


The Proposal Contract

by Kaykic



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rise of Kyoshi - Fandom, Shadow of Kyoshi - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Hei-Ran & Kelsang Bromance, Kelsang being a supportive father-figure to his daughter's future wife, Kyoshi and Rangi getting to be kids for a change, Then a hiking trip to propose, Two trips down memory lane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:28:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28180917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaykic/pseuds/Kaykic
Summary: So Rangi was finally going to do it? Marry Kyoshi, adopt Koko, and officially turn her merry band of misfits into a family?She needs to get through the proposal first. And that's going to be tougher than she thought. Rangi may be the only person who wants to marry Kyoshi, but there's a nation full of people who want to marry the Avatar.And before that mess happens, unbeknownst to the Fire Captain, the news of an engagement sends Hei-Ran on a trip down memory lane to visit Kelsang and Yun.
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 91
Kudos: 219





	1. Prologue: Kelsang

** Day 5,800 in the Era of Yun **

“Hei-Ran.” Hei-Ran frowned as her friend appeared through the training grounds gate alone. He was coming back from an unsuccessful mission to see why Yun was late, most likely out of love for their young student. The nice-guy went to gently remind the boy of his training, rather than let Hei-Ran drag the slacker to the training grounds by his ear. Her disappointment and frustration were not lost on the airbender, and he shrunk in size with every step he took towards her. Kelsang’s mountainous frame appeared to be the size of a foothill by the time he reached her.

“Kelsang.” She looked down on him from her shorter height, making him slink down in his own body even further. “Where is my wayward pupil?”

“I need you to promise not to over-react.” He pulled on his collar nervously.

“No.” Her eyes narrowed, dozens of scenarios played out in her mind; dozens more existed still, knowing that mischievous boy.

“Alright.” He stroked his beard, stalling for time. He needed to find a way to make Yun look noble and soften the blow, “Yun has chosen to stay in the infirmary by his friend’s side during her recovery.”

“Which friend is recovering from what injury?” He really only had two, and if Kelsang was so jittery, Hei-Ran could guess which girl it was, but she wanted to hear it out loud.

“Now Hei-Ran, children will be children.”

“What did she do?”

“Stumbled while preforming her flamingo crane dance....on the roof... and broke an ankle, and maybe a wrist.” He ducked and covered his head like he expected a fireball to fly at it. Though she was tempted, in the end it really wasn’t the arrowhead’s fault. He may have laughed at Rangi’s attempts to gain Kyoshi’s attention. He may have likened her to a bird trying to attract a mate. He continuously waved off any frustration Hei-Ran had, and gently reminded her that Rangi was just ‘that age’ where people did stupid things to impress their crush. He called it a ‘natural part of growing up’. 

But he never encouraged her daughter, either. Kelsang used neutral jing when it came to their children and promised to continue to do so until one, or both, came to him for advice. His tendency to just sit passively to the side and let the girls sort it out was grating on the mother’s nerves. She felt her blood rise from a simmer to full boil.

“That tears it.” She fumed dangerously, steam leaving her nostrils. This was the final offense. It was the raindrop that snuffed out the flame, the crack that made the statue crumble, the degree that melted the ice, the gale that tore the glider; every nation had their own way of expressing her currant emotional state.

Poor Kelsang shouted indistinctly at Hei-Ran as she stormed away. He even used his bending to speed his feet so he could reach the door first and calm her down before she spoke with the children. Unfortunately for him, he sped to the wrong door. The airbender assumed she would be going straight to the infirmary, as any sane person would. Except, she was not feeling very sane at the moment, and she was heading for the massive library.

“Hei-Ran. What are you doing?” He was trying to solve a great mystery. Not only did Hei-Ran **_not_** go directly to Rangi, but she wanted to catch up on her reading? 

“What happened, exactly?” She asked evenly, almost as if she didn’t care, as she grabbed a scholar’s pack and headed for the poetry section of the library. The former headmistress didn’t even care for poetry. She said it was a fine art for people who enjoyed wasting time.

He had to shake away some rocks in his head, clearing it of debris before he could answer. Then he told her about Rangi training on the roof, Yun playing a childish prank which had unintended consequences. But he’d spoken with her healers, and they assured him that with rest and a few more healing sessions, she’d be good as new.

While he explained, his old friend was searching through the poetry scrolls. When she found one that she liked, it went in the pack. Many were being carelessly discarded on the floor in a very unmilitary like fashion. Kelsang was not ashamed to admit he was a little afraid. It was like watching an Air Nomad leaning over a war table, unnatural and truly disconcerting.

“Now, may I ask again ‘what are you doing’?”

“What was that you said you used to do at Rangi’s age when a boy caught your fancy?” She frowned as she opened a scroll, finding it to be completely distasteful and immediately adding it to the pile in the sack, “Sneak up to his room and read him explicit poetry?” 

Kelsang’s eyes grew far too big for his face, his mouth hit the ground and a sweat formed on his brow; Hei-Ran had finally gone mad. He could do nothing but stand quiet as a statue and watch over his friend’s shoulder as she scanned another work, one he knew to be sweet and innocent, and toss it aside. It joined it’s comrades on the floor with a light and pitiful thud. The next one was not so innocent, judging by that particular poet’s lurid style and fascination with the female body, it joined the sack with the other scrolls. After five more approvals, and many more laying without care on the rug, Hei-Ran nodded to herself and closed up her bag.

Kelsang decided that it might be best just to stay out of this.

* * *

The healers were the best that would leave the Northern Tribe for a nowhere place like Yokoya. After all, the honor of serving the Avatar could only go so far in filling the staff positions when they were practically a world away from their families right now. These healers might not be the best in the world, but they should not be underestimated. They were practically artists in their craft.

Rangi’s arm would not even bare the scar, assuming her mother didn’t kill her for that foolish stunt. She’d been practicing her forms on the rooftop between Yun’s mansion and the training grounds; at a time she knew that he, and more importantly his servant, would be passing by after his breakfast. As a soldier, Rangi knew the balancing act was dangerous, especially with the snow covering the roof and the early winter sun warming it, turning it to slush. But the look on Kyoshi’s face would make the risk worth the reward.

And it really was. The firebender pretended not to see them as she went into the advanced set. She stole glances at Kyoshi, who was watching in awed fascination at the dance the young firebending master was preforming, her precision, intensity. Rangi was focused on giving her best, putting the most powerful and the most graceful all to shame. All just to see Kyoshi look at her the way she was right now, and soon for the look in her eyes when she jumped down and brushed it off like it was nothing.

What she hadn’t noticed as she concentrated on her forms, and Kyoshi, was Yun. And the wink he gave their tall friend as he made a snowball in his hands. His aim was true; It hit her in the face, knocking her off balance. While she tried to regain her footing, she slipped on the slush and toppled off the roof.

Yun laughed at first, like he’d never even considered that his bodyguard could be hurt. This was _Rangi_ , and she could not be so easily injured by the things that damaged mere mortals. Kyoshi on the other hand, paid no heed to the comical ‘thud’ of the armor plumping in the snow. The guard had barely hit the ground when a large hand grabbed her shoulder,

“Are you okay?!” Kyoshi’s worry would have melted Rangi’s heart if she weren’t so furious and humiliated.

“Fine.” She seethed through her clenched teeth, assessing the damage to her body. Her ankle did not look healthy, it was twisting in an unnatural angle. Kyoshi and Yun both followed her gaze. The avatar immediately regretted his childish action and started to sincerely apologize before his tall servant spoke over him in the very public courtyard; an act that under normal circumstances would get her fired and thrown out before she could say ‘bouncing badgermoles’.

“Spirits. I’ll carry you to the infirmary.” Kyoshi insisted, picking her up in a bridal carry before Rangi had a chance to act tough and insist that she needed no help. The blush spread to her ears the entire way, as all of the guests and servants could see her in this undignified position. Once Yun learned firebending she was going to challenge him to an Agni Kai and burn his eyebrows off!

Her rage had made the room hot, unbearably so. The healers took off their outer robes and hung them up as they attended to her ankle and wrist. She took no notice of them and the healing process as she glared daggers at her Avatar. To the boy’s credit he stood tall, taking it like a champ as the waterbenders worked their magic. Though for appearances, he waited until after Rangi was put on bedrest and the healers excused themselves to apologize properly. His words were sincere and sad as he vowed never to do such a foolish thing ever again.

“I will never intentionally hurt you.” He promised and explained that he’d thought the snowball would do no more than throw her off rhythm, maybe make her breathe a little steam, but never fall. And when she had fallen, he hadn’t thought it would do more than knock the wind out of her. So, he laughed like she had when he’d dodged the wrong way in training and took a flame to the gut. Rangi listened and decided that missing eyebrows would not hinder Yun’s Avatar duties in any way.

Her plans for revenge were brought to a halt, however, when Kyoshi’s resolve faded. The heat finally got to her and she put her outer robe with the healers’ on the cloak hooks. The tall servant returned to Rangi’s bedside in a sleeveless tunic that showed off all her glorious muscles. Yun, ass he could be, noticed her train of thought derailing and decided to have fun with her. Or perhaps he was trying to be nice and take her mind off her injuries. Either way, the broken bones would soon be at the back of her mind.

“Well, I can see why Auntie Mui sends you to pick up all the heavy supplies.” He grinned, grabbing Kyoshi’s arm and straightening it out to observe the muscle structure. Rangi couldn’t help but stare at them, “We may have to add a few of her chores to our training exercises, Rangi.”

“You will not get up before dawn and carry water to the kitchen.” Kyoshi rolled her eyes, taking her arm back, “And you wouldn’t chop wood or go to the village for supplies.”

“Well, maybe not now. It’s too cold to be up before dawn like you. But in summer, I don’t know, I could be persuaded. After all, an Avatar must never lose sight with the common people.”

“Yeah right.” Rangi huffed, knowing damn well why Yun would be willing to get up early to help Kyoshi do servant chores. The summer sun would make Kyoshi wear less clothing, and Yun would want to see her muscles flex as she drew water from the well and carried heavy burdens. Not that she herself hadn’t helped here and there for a similar reason, but that was beside the point!

“Yun. What happened here?” The gentle, yet booming voice of Master Kelsang drew three sets of eyes to the doorway where a mountain of a man stood with worry etched in his face, “Are you alright, Rangi?”

“I fell.” She looked to the floor, humiliated with the confession.

“It was my fault, Master Kelsang.” Yun could be an ass, that was true, but never let it be said that he didn’t own up to his mistakes, “I was playing around, and accidently pushed Rangi off a roof.”

Of course, then they had to explain the whole situation, and Rangi had to explain why she was on the roof in the first place without revealing her motivations. Kelsang listened patiently, his eyes darting between the injured girl and the girl sitting by her side. Rangi realized to her horror that Kyoshi’s father _knew_. Suddenly, breathing was an unobtainable skill.

She waited for the revelation to come to light. Naturally, he would think his daughter had the right to know that someone was interested, right? Rangi didn’t know if she could handle her crush learning of her feelings like this; this way left no room for nuance, no way to convince her that it was all a misunderstanding if things went wrong. Kyoshi had never spoken of women who loved other women, favorably or otherwise, but the Earth Kingdom was rather backwards thinking about them. What if Kyoshi was just as bigoted as the common Earth Kingdom citizen, and blind to Rangi’s attraction to women?

On the other hand, Kelsang never kept his attraction to men a secret, and Kyoshi never spoke ill of him. But was he the exception? Did Kyoshi simply tolerate something she found to be disgusting out of love for her honorary father? Rangi hadn’t been sure and wasn’t brave enough to ask. She had decided early on to play it safe, showing off whenever she could and waiting for Kyoshi to make the first move. Or give her an indication to stop. She could handle Kyoshi only seeing her as a friend, but she didn’t know if she could bare losing her completely. Now she was facing that possibility because of the airbender’s fatherly responsibilities.

“Well balance is important, but next time I suggest you ask Yun to raise up a balancing beam.” He gently patted her good hand with a knowing smile. Rangi’s lungs began to work again. Why hadn’t he snitched her out? “Yun don’t make it too high, and maybe put some sand underneath should anyone fall. And never play a prank on anyone who’s in a perilous position again. She could’ve been seriously hurt.”

“I won’t, Master Kelsang.” He nodded solemnly.

“Hei-Ran is not happy with you for being late for training, and I doubt this will improve her mood.” The kids paled, they had considered Rangi’s mother, but only as a distant problem. Now it was pushed to the top of the predicaments list. Yun had caused Hei-Ran’s daughter to get hurt. But then, if Rangi hadn’t been showing off so stupidly, Yun would not have had the chance. The only one who didn’t need to fear for their life was Kyoshi, who was suddenly imagining how dim the world would be without her friends in it.

“I accept my punishment for harming my friend, and I will accept my punishment for missing training today. I could not in good conscience leave Rangi right now.” He said bravely, anyone who didn’t know him well would miss the tell-tale signs of his overwhelming fear of his Firebending Sifu.

“I will let her know.” His large hand patted the boy’s shoulder sympathetically on his way out of the infirmary.

“I’m dead.” Rangi said, staring at the door like her mother could storm through it at any given moment and burn her alive.

“You’re dead?” Yun asked sarcastically, “I’m gonna be a Fire baby before the day’s over!”

“She’s not going to kill the Avatar! You’re too important! I have cousins to replace me!”

Kyoshi watched helplessly from the sidelines as her two friends fought over who Hei-Ran would kill. Personally, she thought they were debating the wrong points. It wasn’t a question of ‘who Hei-Ran would kill’, but rather ‘who Hei-Ran would kill first’. Her money was on Rangi, probably for disrupting the Avatar’s training schedule more than anything. Fire Nationals were so picky about maintaining their schedules.

The room heated several degrees in what seemed like an instant. Yun and Rangi’s arguing ceased. Three heads remained deadly still for a moment, and then slowly turned to the doorway, afraid to see what stood there waiting for them. Hei-Ran, and she was composed as ever. Not a good sign at all. 

“Avatar Yun. You feel so powerful that you can live without your bodyguard?”

“Sifu I swear it was an accident.”

“Enough!” She barked, and he snapped to attention, “You will run laps around the Estate’s inner wall.”

“Yes, Sifu.” He said meekly, slinking slowly to the door like a kicked tigerdog pup, “How many?”

“You will run until I tell you to stop.”

“Yes, Sifu.” There was no doubt she would be taking her sweet time about releasing him, hopefully he would be done before Master Jianzhu got back from his trip this evening. He wanted a little time to recover from one punishment before he received another.

“Kyoshi, you may leave now. I want to speak with my daughter alone.”

Kyoshi gave one last look to Rangi, as if to say, ‘It’s been lovely knowing you’, before she collected her robe and made herself disappear. 

“So, did you finally impress her, or shall you try to do your forms on a bison’s head in the clouds and see if that works?”

“I wasn’t trying to impress her, Mother, I wanted to work on my balance. The height and danger were a motivator.”

“It was a chance to show how fierce and graceful you are; nothing more, nothing less.” She snapped, throwing the scholar’s pack at her daughter. The teenager only seemed to register it enough to catch it on her stomach; her eyes stayed locked on her mother’s “You’ve gone too far this time, young lady. I give up.”

Rangi couldn’t stop the tears from running down her cheeks. Her mother had always been hard on her, but she’d always understood why. Hei-Ran had thought she had great potential and wasn’t going to let it go to waste. She’d believed in her daughter. Now Rangi had forced her to abandon hope, and she felt like cutting her hair in shame.

“Take those,” she gestured to the pack that Rangi had been ignoring, “and after you’re cleared by the healers, go stand outside Kyoshi’s window and read them to her. With any luck she’ll invite you into her bed so you can get this out of your system.”

Rangi had been sure she heard that wrong. She must have. Her mother, Hei-Ran of Clan Sei'naka, had told her to do what? For a single moment, her brain had frozen solid, unable to make a single cohesive thought. And then it sped at lightening speed with many different possibilities. The only one that made any sense at all was that Hei-Ran was testing her, and yet, her mother wasn’t one for mind games.

“Mother, what are you saying?” Because she hadn’t actually meant for her to go to Kyoshi’s room and....do things with her.

“You know very well what I’m saying. Let’s just hope a night of passion can cure you of this foolish behavior.”

Hei-Ran left her child wide-eyed and frozen stiff in shock, but she heard the rustling of the pack as she closed the infirmary door behind her. Rangi didn’t know what the scrolls contained, but she would soon. Whether or not the girl used them to her advantage was out of Hei-Ran’s hands. Hopefully, one way or the other, the girls would sort this out and she would not be forced to intervene further.

Kelsang was in the hall and not even trying to hide the fact he’d been listening in.

“So...”

“Either say something or don’t.” she sneered, clasping her hands behind her back and walking away, leaving him to catch up.

“Hei-Ran, I know you’re worried about Rangi’s behavior, but is this really the best course of action?”

“This plan will not backfire. Either Rangi is so embarrassed that she will stop trying to woo the girl, Kyoshi will turn her away and be done with it, or they can get it out of their systems and move onward.”

“Move onward?” To what, Kelsang wondered silently, would they move to? Yun, while a good boy, was no match for Kyoshi- nor was she a good match for him. And there were no other teenagers in the estate. That left the children of Yokoya. And neither held any affection for the people of that village. Of course, there was always another option for one of the girls, though Kelsang prayed he was wrong. It would break Kyoshi’s heart before she even completely understood why. “Do you have a marriage for Rangi in mind already?”

“I have several prospects in mind, obviously.” She was a bit insulted that he would even think that she hadn’t been thinking of her child’s future since the day she was born. What kind of mother would she be if she hadn’t? The list had narrowed since she’d noticed her daughter’s indifference towards men, but that would be no problem. There were still plenty of prospects, there were many fine young noblewomen in the Fire Nation who would find Rangi to be a suitable wife. “But that is not what this is about.”

“You’re so sure that’s all it is?” He worried now, and he could see why Hei-Ran didn’t approve of Rangi’s flamingo crane dance. His daughter was a servant and an orphan with no fortune or land. And if anyone were to look into her background even further than that to find a disgraced airbender and a daofei, it would only get worse. She could never hope to be good enough for a Noblewoman like Rangi, “What if they are in love? Will you still marry her to someone else?”

“I don’t believe there’s a need to worry. It is a crush of convenience, and they will grow out of it.” By now Hei-Ran faced the truth and only lied to others about the children. The lack of options may be why there was this mild love triangle going on, at least where Yun was concerned. She really didn’t know Kyoshi well enough to judge her motivations, but Rangi would try to gain the tall girl’s favor if there were a thousand pretty girls around to impress. This didn’t mean she was wrong, though. Rangi’s heart was burning for the girl, that was true. But her heart was still young. It was going to grow up, and most likely snuff out the flame as it did.

“I think it might be all it is at the moment, but I think there is potential there.”

“There are three teenagers in the estate. Two of them have crushes on Kyoshi, and Kyoshi can’t seem to decide which one she’s more interested in. It’s a tangled mess because there is a severe lack of options for them here. Once Rangi starts traveling the world with Yun, this love will fade into memory.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Though he was beginning to hope Hei-Ran was right and their feelings would sizzle out into a sweet memory of young love.

“Oh, and how many of your old flames do you still pine over?”

“My past affairs are different. I always made sure he knew that we would be involved only for the moment. And I think that gives me the experience to know the difference between a tryst of passion and something deeper.”

“I do know something of childish infatuations, myself, Kelsang.” And this is what she saw in the girls.

“I know. But Kyoshi is not Kuruk.”

“I know that.” If anything, Rangi was the Kuruk of this relationship, she was the one pulling ill-advised stunts to get attention even if it made her look like a fool.

“And Rangi is not you.” Neither was Kyoshi, the girl didn’t even seem to realize Rangi was flirting with her. At first, Hei-Ran had been glad to hear that the actions were not returned for many reasons. Time proved her to be a fool, if Kyoshi flirted with Rangi as she had done with Kuruk, then maybe her lovesick daughter wouldn’t be trying dangerous feats to get noticed.

“No, and I would very much like to keep it that way.” It didn’t matter which girl filled which role in the relationship, Hei-Ran didn’t want it to end like her own childish love had. Oh, Rangi wouldn’t be as dishonorable as Kuruk, and perhaps Kyoshi would take the inevitable loss better than she had, but it would still hurt them both. Why should she and Kelsang entertain thoughts of being in-laws?

“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have helped her.”

“Rangi broke her ankle, next time it may be her neck. If Kyoshi reciprocates, fine. Hopefully, they can enjoy a season or two as lovers before they grow apart. If she doesn’t, then Rangi will stop making a fool of herself.”

“Until the next girl catches her fancy.”

“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

“What if she doesn’t meet your standards for your daughter-in law either?”

“Kelsang,” she sighed, stopping to put a friendly hand on the monk’s shoulder. He was a hopeless romantic at heart, and he wanted the best for Kyoshi. Her daughter was the best anyone could hope to find, but the world simply didn’t work the way they wanted, “They will grow out of this. It would be easier to accept that now.”

“What if Junsik had been a lowly commoner?” It was a low blow, one Kelsang regretted making, but on behalf of Kyoshi and Rangi, he had to. Something in his bones told him this was special. And even if it did fizzle out, so what? What if Rangi’s next love was a kitchen maid or a farmer’s daughter?

“He wasn’t.”

“You were lucky, my friend. And even your luck was helped by Kuruk. How many times did he decree your way out of your engagements?”

She went to open her mouth about duty to the Avatar, and a husband getting in the way. It might have been true, but that was never her main motivation. She had wanted to travel the world with her friends, and her love, and she simply hadn’t been ready to settle down. Then she’d started teaching and she met Junsik, and they went to their respective clan elders to make the match.

“What would you have me do, Kelsang?” she spoke like a viperbat, hissing every word, “Deny my people’s customs and my clan’s interests to let my daughter marry a poor servant?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Kelsang had a look he rarely had, one of unabashed anger. His red face offset his blue arrow, and his teeth clenched.

“So Kyoshi’s good enough to warm Rangi’s bed, but not share it?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“You’ve given Rangi permission to lay with her, but you won’t even entertain the notion of marriage.” And when he put it like that, there really was no other meaning to assign to her words, was there? “Kyoshi is not a tool to be used and cast aside!” a harsh gust of wind messed up her clothing and hair as he stormed away.

She went to her room and tried a calming exercise, increasing and decreasing the power of five candle flames to the rhythm of a lullaby. The fires would not obey her correctly, becoming too strong at the wrong moments, and she was missing beats entirely. Why had she said that out loud?

Underneath the titles, Hei-Ran understood that Rangi and Kyoshi were really not so different; they both served the Avatar. Her entire clan was made up of highborn servants. But that title, that family line did make all the difference. Kyoshi was a fine girl from what she could tell, but how could she convince the clan elders to accept a poor girl with no lineage or title? Her only connection to importance was a father (an unofficial one at that) who was a companion of Avatar Kuruk, and soon to be Airbending Sifu to Avatar Yun. It wasn’t enough.

It was wrong to encourage Rangi to lay with the girl, Kelsang had her on that. She’d simply wanted to make sure that her daughter didn’t die trying to get a date, but she used Kyoshi as a pai sho tile without any regards to her feelings. So, her first objective was to stop Rangi from following her irresponsible advice.

Kelsang was in with Rangi right now, there was no mistaking his laugh, loud and boisterous and joining Rangi’s to make a racket that carried down the hall. She would forever be grateful that the monk was too good-natured to take his anger out on her daughter. She heard the laughter dissolve into gasps for breaths. What was so amusing? After a moment of indecision, and a look to either side to make sure no one saw her, she leaned in to put an ear to the door.

“Did it ever work?” Rangi asked, her words broken by her body’s need for air.

“Truth be told, and I’ll ask you not to repeat this to Jianzhu or Hei-Ran, only about half the time. I can’t say I blame the ones who sent me away, what with the way I appeared outside their window that late at night. I must’ve looked like a prowler!” So, all these years he’d been exaggerating and none of his friends ever doubted him. Interesting.

“Did you ever get attacked?” 

“Several times.” He admitted with embarrassed amusement, the kind you looked back on and remembered fondly, “Once I got blown right off my bison, I wasn’t able to grab my glider on the way off, either! After a really long fall, screaming all the way mind you, I found myself being dangled; my legs caught in a bison’s bite.”

“No!”

“I still have the scars.” There was no immediate reply, Kelsang was probably showing her the bison tooth scars on his calves. The ones he had once told her were from a wild bison attack. Looking back, Hei-Ran probably should’ve seen that as suspicious, but Kelsang just had such a trustworthy face. “See there?” He continued, “You’re not alone in the ‘I’ve done dumb things to impress someone’ club.”

“You didn’t tell Kyoshi about me did you?”

“No. I would never. It’s not really her business, is it?” She could see him stroking his beard in her mind’s eye, “Your feelings are yours, and yours alone. It’s up to you to decide how, when, or even if you tell Kyoshi about them.”

“So, you’re not going to tell me about hers, are you?”

“Tough and smart.” He chuckled, “Her feelings are hers. You’ll have to ask her yourself.”

Rangi groaned and Kelsang chuckled harder.

“Before or after I’m supposed to read her the poetry?”

“May I make a suggestion.” He must have gotten a go ahead in gesture, as Hei-Ran heard him continue, “Everyone has their very own love language, the way we communicate our affection to the people we care about. If I were you, I would take time to figure out what my love language is before I go waxing poetic. You might find a better way of expressing yourself.”

Hei-Ran knew Rangi’s love language didn’t involve poetry at all. She was pretty physical with her affection, that was clear.

“I don’t know how.”

“Well, maybe it’s just not the right time. Soon, you’ll find yourself knowing just how to say what you feel. Until then, please do everyone a favor and stay away from dangerous maneuvers. You’re worrying your mother sick, and if I see that crazed look in her eyes one more time, I’m going to run away.”

Her daughter agreed, and the woman in question walked away. Her next objective was a little bit of soul searching.

* * *

Later, the firebending instructor watched with apathy as the avatar’s legs finally gave out beneath him without the ability to get him back up on his feet. Kyoshi also watched, she struggled to keep herself from rushing to help him.

“Take him to his room.” She ordered neutrally, more for the antsy servant’s sake than Yun’s. The freckled girl picked him up as if he weighed nothing and carried him to his room like a bride, sidestepping her mountainous father on the way into the Avatar’s mansion.

“It’s a pity that such strength goes to waste.” She mused, not finding it wise to jump right into the earlier topic. “If the girl were a Fire National, she wouldn’t be so misplaced as a servant; or cast aside at all. If no family would take her, she would be made a ward of the Junior Corps and trained to tap into her full potential.” Hei-Ran imagined a soldier of that size and strength would give any enemy second thoughts about attacking.

“Nothing is wasted as long as she’s happy.” Kelsang said sagely. Though he often had to remind himself of this fact; her earthbending was truly a waste of magnificent talent. Imagine the people she could help, bending new houses for the poor in minutes, tilling a whole field for a farmer’s widow so that her children could plant seeds, creating new cart paths for the rural areas so they could get to markets. But her fear paralyzed her. That was the real pity.

“It’s not my place to argue.” She wouldn’t win, anyway.

“I’ve been thinking about our earlier conversation.” Yes, they both must have been thinking about that. It hadn’t been a very pleasant or productive day.

“I should apologize for the things I said.” As hard as it was, Hei-Ran felt she had to swallow her pride and admit that she was in the wrong this time.

“I won’t ask you to. Not unless you mean it.”

“I do mean it. I’m sorry Kelsang. In the end, every honest person from a housemaid to the Avatar is a servant of someone else. It was wrong of me to suggest one is lesser than the other.”

“I accept your apology. But what about the girls?”

“If Junsik wasn’t noble, I wouldn’t have married him.” It was a hard fact for her to face, but it was the truth none the less, “I would have let my elders pick out a match as is tradition and lived a long miserable life. I don’t want that for Rangi. Or Kyoshi.”

“Neither of us do.”

“I won’t lie to you, I still believe nothing serious will come from this, but if it should- I will find some way to work it out.” Though she still had no idea how to do so. The problems still existed, Hei-Ran’s lesson in equal treatment had not changed the world in an instant. But there was a way; there had to be.

“I believe there is more than a childish infatuation between our daughters, and I’m willing to make a bet.” He placed one of the few possessions allowed to an Air Monk into her hands. His bison whistle, “If our girls ever announce their engagement, you give this back. If they do not, you keep it.”

“I don’t think you understand how betting works.”

“I’m betting that I’ll have this back soon enough.” He said so cheerfully even Hei-Ran had to smile, he was so- so Kelsang; that was the only way to describe him. The man would not be deterred. She put the whistle in her belt pouch, and later put it in her desk drawer; not forgotten but certainly never at the forefront of her mind.


	2. Prologue: Yun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yun plays matchmaker, Rangi tries her luck with a haiku.

** Day 6002 in the Era of Yun **

It had been an interesting day. Not only had Yun managed to get Kyoshi to agree to come with them to the -probably not going to be dangerous- meeting, but Kyoshi finally slipped up as well, according to some chatty kitchen servants. There were mixed reviews about the sea shanty Kyoshi had sang. Even if Yun were blind, he could tell which nation any servant hailed from simply by their reaction to the song. The Earth and Water staff members were huffing and puffing about the whole thing like it was some great offense to them, while the Air and Fire members were laughing at Kyoshi’s surprising show of desire for the young bodyguard. 

It was late now and Rangi’s guard shift was about to come to an end, she stood at attention behind him while he sat in the library. He had been studying Water Tribe and Fifth Nation rituals, preparing for the meeting with Tagaka as much as he could; but his mind needed a break. He decided that a rest was in order, so for the past few minutes he’d been pretending to reflect on the document in front of him while he really reflected on Rangi and Kyoshi.

Personally, he didn’t give a spider-rat’s tail about Earth Kingdom ‘propriety’ involving love. At one time he had, to his current shame. That was before he met Masters Jianzhu and Kelsang. Jianzhu tried to teach him to respect the cultural variances of the four nations because he belonged not only to the Earth Kingdom but to the whole world. Half of the world’s nations couldn’t care less about the other half’s idea of ‘acceptable love’, and they were not to be treated any differently for it. The lesson was taught, and he pretended that his stomach didn’t turn as he saw two Fire Nation men holding hands. He always was a world class actor.

In the following months, Yun learned that the big airbender, who he was rather fond of, was one of these inappropriate people. Then he found out that his gorgeous new bodyguard was as well, and he really got the feeling that his lovely new servant was pretty inappropriate, too. Somewhere between meeting them and calling them friends, he stopped faking his acceptance. Now he couldn’t believe he’d ever been so closed minded, and he completely agreed with the Fire and Air people. Let people love who they want as long as everyone in the relationship consented.

And Yun was pretty sure the song was a sign Kyoshi was finally ready to do some consenting of her own. Honestly, he never would’ve guessed that the shy girl would dare sing about ‘being lured in by the promise of sin’. It was quite the surprise, but it was not an unwelcome one. That had to be the signal his bodyguard had been waiting for; Kyoshi was ready to try a relationship. And of course, being the good friend he was, he was going to help the young ladies out; starting with a little romantic nudge in the right direction.

His bodyguard was a statue, and Yun wondered just how many cracks it would take to make her crumble. He should probably do this directly, just come out and tell Rangi what happened in the kitchen earlier, after all, if Kyoshi didn’t want Rangi to know, then she shouldn’t have sung in a crowded room. Then he could tell her to finally make her move, for spirit’s sake. 

But would that be the right way? Rangi was stubborn, she might take his words as insult or even an outright lie, and spend the next week steaming up the place. No, he had to make Rangi think this was all her idea, that was the only way to begin a new chapter in this love story. Soon, his idiot friend’s dance of avoidance would end. And in some small way he would miss it; their constant blushing and stolen glances had been very amusing to the young Avatar. That thought helped him make the decision, if he was going to lose his entertainment, he was going to have a bit of fun before he did.

“I’ve got two knives that are cast in bronze/” He sang to the tune of the shanty game, wondering how many verses in he would get before Rangi got the idea, “They pierce all the way to the soul/ They draw you in with the promise of sin/ like a moth to the flame to the coal.”

“Shouldn’t you be focusing?” She hadn’t seemed to make the connection yet. Now that he thought about it, it was very possible that Rangi hadn’t ever heard of this low brow game, being born into the upper class. Well, that was a shame, and there’s no time like the present to learn.

“A candle that burns too long will burn itself out.” He recited an old Fire Nation proverb about focusing too hard and giving one’s self a break. He didn’t bother to look at her, his eyes were still on the document like he was actually considering its words, “And I’ve had this song stuck in my head for a couple of hours now.” He continued on, “I’ve got hair like the starless night / it sticks to my lips when I smile / I’ll wind it with yours and we’ll drift off course / in a ship touching hearts all the while.” 

“What kind of drivel have you been listening to?” Here it was, his opening.

“Ouch. You’d better not say that in front of Kyoshi. It’d probably hurt her feelings if you called her song ‘drivel’.” He turned in his chair to finally look at Rangi, finding her pondering the natural order of the world. Up was down, left was right, Kyoshi was writing songs. 

“What did you say?” Rangi must have misheard, right?

“I don’t believe I stuttered.” He put on an innocent façade, one that said ‘I’m just making casual conversation, no ulterior motive here’, not that he expected his observant friend to believe it for a second. “There’s a game Earth seafolk play; you make up a song on the spot, one about a love interest, and everyone guesses who it is.”

“That’s dumb.”

“Maybe to a two-legged dragon such as yourself. But it’s a common game for the furless badgermoles. So Kyoshi’s song- let’s think about that. He grinned widely as he looked his friend over as if he were examining an ostrich horse,

“We’re looking for someone with two piercing bronze eyes.” He got in her face. “Well look at that, you have bronze eyes.”

“Back away now.” She growled, a polarbear dog could not be more threatening. He didn’t tempt fate and moved out of her space.

“And we’re looking for pitch-black hair.” She jumped away, assuming that he was going to touch her head. “Calm down, I’d never touch a Fire National’s hair. What do you take me for, a savage? Though I would like to point out that when I said, ‘black hair’ you jumped away, naturally assuming I was talking about you.”

“If you weren’t the Avatar....”

“But I am, Rangi. I am.” He said with an impish smirk, one of a man who knew he couldn’t be touched, “And there’s not a thing you can do about it. Now if you don’t mind, I’m looking for a certain smile, one that could draw a giant freckled moth to the flame for sinful purposes. Be a dear and smile for me, would you?”

A scroll flew at his head, missing only because of the Avatar’s catmouse like reflexes.

“We really have to talk about this new tendency to resort to violence. Woah!” He ducked for cover dramatically, dodging the next scroll as if it were a spear, and the next until he lost control and laughed. The fourth scroll hit its mark, getting him right in the ear.

“Quit laughing! It’s not funny!”

“I think it is. Why aren’t you happy? Kyoshi likes you. Like, **_LIKES_** you, likes you.”

“She does not!”

“Well, the only other person we know with black hair and bronze eyes is.... your mom.”

Rangi made a gagging sound.

“Right? Of course, Kyoshi might be into older women. Your mom is still very attractive, and I certainly wouldn’t say ‘no’ if -erhk-.” His thoughts were cut off by a fist of iron grabbing hold of his shirt,

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He saluted with a gulp, and with the same care he would take in calming down a wild Bullzebra, he guided her fingers off his shirt, “I can help you with a reply if you want.”

“Yun!”

“No, wait! Hear me out. How do you like this?” Yun cleared his throat, “I’ve got more freckles than jewels or gold/ Though I stare at bronze every day/ I like raven hair, and skin that’s fair/ And I sing the words I’m too shy to say.”

“You know what? I’m starting to think you really want to be reborn!”

“While I think I’ll look very good in red, I’m planning on sticking with green for a good long while. How about you? Will there be any green clothing in your future?” The implication that the chosen clothing would swallow her whole -and just why she would be wearing them-, was not lost on the firebender. He winked and ran for his life with his fiery bodyguard hot on his heals, all puns intended.

He ran in and out of the narrow passageways, over study tables and under ladders. He had a feeling that most people would have already given up on catching him, but Rangi was trained for this and it was only a matter of time before he was caught. As he past the Library Master’s vacant desk he pulled the silk rope to ring for the night servant, never slowing in his escape. Now just to keep a step ahead until the servant came.

“Avatar Yun?” The servant called from the entrance a few minutes later, knowing that only the studious Avatar would be there at this hour of the night. Perfect timing. Rangi had not a second before grabbed a hold of the back of Yun’s shirt, pulling him to a stop. Now she let go, a sneer taking over her mouth as she did. The brutal vengeance would have to wait.

Yun struck up a conversation with the man, telling him of the long night he was in for, and the need for nourishment. Food wasn’t allowed in the library, but the Avatar had a gift, and soon he would be dining in the forbidden room. It was only two sentences later they were making plans and talking about their favorite snack foods. He was running out the clock.

When the soft bell rang, and Rangi’s replacement came, Yun casually left an earworm for the girl. He mentioned a little snack that Kyoshi said had been left for the staff, noticing with hidden glee that their freckled girl’s name caught Rangi’s attention, and asked if there was any left. So now the hot-tempered guard was off duty, bewildered, and had Kyoshi on the mind. The rest was up to her.

Rangi paced the grounds, Yun gotten into her head. Hardly surprising, that is what he excelled at. He knew just what to say to rile her up and the exact right time that he could do it without retaliation. But she would not forget this, there would be revenge for singing that dumb song, which Kyoshi made up. Kyoshi really had made a song up about her?

A big smile broke out despite her best efforts to stay mad. Kyoshi had sung a song about her! The realization hit Rangi like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly she had too much energy to contain in her body. She leaped for joy, punching the air and sending a flame to the heavens.

The sound of heavy armored stomps filled the air and Rangi froze. Her flame had alerted the guards like any distress signal should. It was all she could do to look dignified as they surrounded her.

“What’s going on here?!” the leader grumbled at the lack of apparent emergency.

“I was merely testing your response time.” So technically, she didn’t outrank him, but the guards usually listened to her anyway. She was the Avatar’s bodyguard, she was Master Hei-Ran’s daughter, and she was to be obeyed, “Well done.”

He looked as if he were about to kill her, he probably would if she were anyone else.

“You may return to your posts now.”

“Very well.” The words were strained, like there was a string of curses begging to be released from his lips. But he waved his underlings away, all grumbling under their breaths about surprise drills. Rangi didn’t feel bad, an unplanned test would keep their skills sharp.

She almost managed to forget Kyoshi, if her relief hadn’t led to thinking about sending off that stupid signal, if thinking about the signal hadn’t led right back to Kyoshi singing about her; she would’ve been golden. But the train of thought naturally went back to the tall servant, and Rangi found herself getting excited once again and nearly made the same mistake twice in five minutes. There was way too much pent-up energy in her body, she had to get rid of it before she did something stupid.

Rangi ran. She ran along the paths of the compound, any other night this would cause a ruckus, but the guards were done with her antics and left her alone. It wasn’t the workout she wanted. That workout required a lot of jumping and graceful falls, but that wasn’t a good idea at night. If her mother found out that she hurt herself because of her crush again, Rangi surely wouldn’t survive to make that mistake a third time.

As the guard ran past the servant quarters, she saw a flame light in Kyoshi’s room. There was a squealing screech as she came to a sudden stop. Her brain tried to start a debate with her heart, but it was beating too loud for an argument to be heard. It wouldn’t matter if it were quiet, her feet had already sided with her heart and were closing in unprompted.

Her hand took a second to debate before knocking on the shutters.

Kyoshi jumped off her bed, startled by the noise. Rangi grimaced, picturing herself in the story of Kelsang’s bison-scar failure. This couldn’t make her look like a sane person. Luckily, Kyoshi smiled when she realized it was just Rangi. Then she came to lean on the window ledge. There was a look of relief on the freckle covered face. Perhaps Kyoshi had been working too hard, or in this case maybe thinking too hard, and needed a break.

“Hey Rangi.” She whispered, afraid to wake up her nearest neighbor and get kicked out of the dormitories.

“Hey, Kyoshi.” What was she supposed to say now? Maybe something along the lines of ‘Hey, I heard about your song and I don’t need to leave you for six hours.’? No, too forward.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.” Rangi, say something! “The moon is very full.” Damn it, that was six syllables. Rangi was no poet, but even she knew that a haiku had five syllables in the first line.

“Yes.” It was just on the edge of a question. The moon was indeed full that night, but why was it worth mentioning?

“I need to be with you now.” Seven syllables! Yes! It was truly a shame that there was no sense of rhythm or flow, and it sounded more like an order than a poem, “Until dawn when I...” She made a decision as she counted the damn syllables in the last line, poetry was stupid, “work.”

“Rangi, do you have a fever?” she reached across the threshold to put her hand on Rangi’s sweaty forehead, “I think you might be sweating one away. I’ll walk with you to the infirmary.”

**Mission failure.**

A big part of her brain said ‘RUN’ as Kyoshi blew out her candle and rushed out her door. But even if she did run, Kyoshi would find her, and she’d get her to the infirmary if she had to pick her up and carry her there, and no thank you. That wasn’t going to happen again. 

“Come on.” A big hand laid on her shoulder, trying to urge her into moving.

“No, I don’t have a fever.” She slapped the giant digits off her shoulder, “I’ve just been running.”

“At this time of night?”

“I just wanted to blow off steam after guard duty.”

“Yun being himself again?” She asked with a knowing smile. Yun was energetic and charming, but his charm could be grating if you were close enough to him; if you weren’t some political figure whose good graces he needed to stay on to get his job done. Friends were fair game for teasing and aggravating.

“More himself than usual.” She sighed tiredly, happy to have someone understand what she dealt with on a daily basis; someone she could vent to.

“Do you want to go to the stream with me? It would help take your mind off your troubles.” Rangi clearly needed to relax before she got committed to an asylum, and after what Kelsang said earlier, she also needed to relax a little. Sometime outside the estate grounds could be just what they needed.

“At this time of night?” 

“Only with you to protect me from the dangerous animals.” She grinned a dopy grin, one that covered half her face.

“Oh, ha ha.” She grumbled, heading for the gate. Kyoshi’s long legs helped her catch up quickly. They passed the gate guards, who eyed them with curiosity, but said nothing. It was their job to keep people out, not in. Rangi lit a flame in her hand as they headed for the stream where Kyoshi sometimes helped the laundry maids with the wash.

They’d been here before. There were times when they needed a minute to breathe, so after the laundry was done, the two would sit at the water’s edge and just take in the twilight air. They’d never been here so late, but Kyoshi wasn’t complaining. She’d have to find a way to get Rangi to come with her after dark more often. It was restful like this, with the light summer wind blowing through the trees, cricket canaries singing, the full moon lighting their faces. The firebender lit by the soft light looked unnatural; too beautiful to be anything of this world.

“Why are you up at this hour anyway?” the face didn’t look any less beautiful as it frowned at Kyoshi.

“I just couldn’t stop thinking.” She didn’t know why, either. Kelsang was wrong, that wasn’t Kuruk’s poem. She wasn’t the avatar. There was no reason for the thought to be clinging to her mind like a lobster monkey, “It’s stupid.”

“Are you finally forming a plan to deal with the village idiots?” She grabbed a twig and snapped it dramatically, “I have a map of the village and I think you should lure the leader into the alley between the fisher net maker and the blacksmith. It’s on the edge of the village and the noise from the blacksmith will cover up any screams.”

“Then how can you hear me call for help?” She had never won any fight. Granted, she’d never really fought back, but there was no point to fighting. If she did, her attackers would only get angry and leave more bruises.

“You’re almost twice her size, and more than twice as strong.” She pointed out in frustration, astonished that Kyoshi needed to be told this, “You shouldn’t need my help, you’re strong enough by yourself.”

“She’s stronger than she looks.” There was no way her friend believed her, or at least she didn’t believe that Kyoshi wasn’t much stronger than any of the village kids.

“You’re a giant walking headache sometimes, you know that?”

“I can’t help it.” She looked sheepish. Sometimes Kyoshi was lucky she was adorable, because Rangi wanted to drag her to the training grounds and knock some sense into her until she could defend herself from the parasites of the world; but how could she raise a fist to that face?

“You could.” She sneered, throwing the stick in the stream.

“So, what did Yun do this time?” Kyoshi didn’t want to discuss her problem, or _problems_ , anymore; that was the whole point of coming out here in the first place. Yun’s antics would be a good change of pace.

“He-” her whole demeaner changed in a single second, going from frustration to outright devious, “Told me about a game you earth citizens play. Where you make up a song about someone on the spot. And about the one you sang in the kitchen earlier.”

“It just came out!” she panicked, too engrossed in explaining it away to realize that there was no way Rangi or even Yun could know about Kuruk’s poem to Hei-Ran, “I didn’t even know what I was saying until it came out of my mouth!”

A hand slapped over Kyoshi’s mouth,

“Stop shouting, rocks-for-brains, you’re going to make the guards think something’s wrong.”

The reply was indistinguishable by the hand over her mouth.

“And stop panicking, it’s okay.” She rolled her eyes and took her hand away, hoping that the lighting didn’t show the way her face heated up. A part of her could not believe that she just told Kyoshi that it was okay to make up that kind of song about her.

“It is?” Kyoshi’s brain had just broken. There was no way Rangi could possibly be okay with the possibility of Yun being a false Avatar. It would completely shatter the fire guard’s fragile world.

“Yeah. But I can’t believe you actually sang about me in a room full of people, you doofus.”

That was it! Of course! The reason her shanty had reminded Kelsang of Kuruk’s poem was actually really simple; Rangi and Hei-Ran looked so much alike! It wouldn’t be hard for anyone to compare their piercing eyes to bronze daggers, or say their hair was black as night. A boulder had just been lifted off her chest, she’d just been singing about Rangi.

She’d just been singing about Rangi......and Rangi _knew_....a boulder of a different shape replaced the first.

“I’m so sorry, Kelsang was challenging me to have fun, and it just came out.” The sentence came out quick, and rather high pitched. Oh, Yangchen help her. Rangi was going to hate her, wasn’t she? She was at her window trying to tell her to back off, wasn’t she? 

“I just said it was okay.” She huffed with annoyance. Kyoshi really needed to have a little more confidence, her first reaction was always assuming she was in trouble when the reality was quite the opposite.

“It is?” It was? Oh, that’s right. She had said it was okay before, hadn’t she?

“I just can’t believe you had the backbone to do it.” Even here, talking with Kyoshi about it, she still couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that the timid girl had the nerve to pull the stunt.

“Maybe I’ve been spending too much time with Yun.” That was a good explanation, the best as a matter of fact. That had to be something she picked up working for that giant flirt.

“Yeah, well, just don’t start trying to toy with me like he does.” The moment the sentence finished, Rangi felt like whacking herself upside the head. She may as well have told Kyoshi to back off. How stupid could she be?

“I won’t, I promise.” And now Kyoshi was going to be the stupid, respectful person she was and give Rangi the space she just asked for. Damn her.

“He’s not sincere anyway.” Yeah. There; she cleared up her meaning. Hopefully.

“Do you even like men?” Kyoshi had been under the impression, from the way Rangi snuck glances at the visiting Air Nuns and female Fire Generals, never once stealing a glance at a man, she only had a taste for women.

“No.” This was the moment of truth that Rangi had been putting off for so long. She reminded herself to calm down and not snap at her friend. The song did everything short of telling the entire estate that Kyoshi wasn’t one for Earth Kingdom tradition either... unless she was following Yun’s example and being a shallow flirt. “That a problem?”

“Why would it be a problem?” Why would her friend even need to ask that question? All the time they’d been friends, Kyoshi made a point never to comment on Rangi’s infatuations, trying not to make her friend feel awkward. But she failed, she shouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t her place to ask, Kyoshi supposed. “I thought you knew it wasn’t. I would never-“

“No, I know that.” She kicked herself for ever doubting her friend, “It’s just Earth Citizens and Water Tribesmen don’t approve.”

“They’re idiots.” 

Rangi smiled. Even if Kyoshi’s shanty was just like Yun’s flirting, insincere and pointless, at least she wouldn’t lose Kyoshi as a friend.

“And if anyone gives you trouble, just tell Yun, he’ll have them blacklisted.” That’s what he’d said after he had caught her staring at a nun, too. A really beautiful woman, she had many heads turning including three teenagers eating fruit under a tree. Yun, who recovered first, noticed both girls were gawking as well and winked up at Kyoshi. A talk followed later when they were alone, and Kyoshi confessed that everyone was attractive, and no, she couldn’t choose only one gender. He never asked her to.

“Anyone gives me trouble; I’ll deal with them.” She didn’t need the Avatar to fight her battles.

“Okay. You’re scarier than Yun anyway.” Maybe not to the world, but if Kyoshi had to choose which one to fight, she’d pick Yun. He had the greater chance of being persuaded to solve any grievance through calm negotiation.

“You scared of me?” Rangi challenged. Kyoshi didn’t think ‘scared’ was the right word. Having a healthy respect for the fact the firebender could, and would, singe her hair off didn’t make her scared. It demonstrated that there was a brain in her skull despite what people may think.

“Of course not, you’re my protector.”

She made a gagging noise, “I thought I told you ‘no toying with me’.”

“I’m not.” She hadn’t been toying with her, but if she could get away with aggravating Rangi just a little – well Kyoshi saw no reason not to, “You’re my hero.”

“Shut up!” Kyoshi got a shove, it barely made an impact, but Kyoshi fell over dramatically. Rangi just looked unimpressed, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, it’s even more beautiful from this angle.” A dumb grin spread across her face. A puzzled gaze took over the firebender’s expression. Kyoshi took this as a sign to back off and diverted suspicion, “The stars and the clouds.”

“Dummy.” Rangi flopped down, her armor spikes nearly poking Kyoshi’s arm.

A silence took over them as they watched incoming rainless clouds cover the stars and pass the moon as the cricket canaries continued their song, sometimes it was nice just to share space with someone in a peaceful setting; no talking or expectations needed.

Rangi fell asleep first. Kyoshi noticed and debated what to do next. The obvious answer, picking the sleepy girl up and take her to the barracks, would not work. Assuming that the guard didn’t wake up and get mad, the other guards she shared quarters with would never let her hear the end of it. She may never be forgiven for ruining Rangi’s reputation with her peers.

The next option was to wake her up, and she just couldn’t. Rangi looked so tired and frustrated that Kyoshi just could not bring herself to wake her up yet. So instead, she decided to let the bodyguard take a nap and wake her up later.

Carefully, oh so carefully, Kyoshi took off her own top tunic and bundled it up under Rangi’s head; it was a miracle the girl stayed asleep for it. Then she got worried that the hairpin might get uncomfortable, so she slipped it out of the raven hair and held onto it for her. The plan was perfect.

Until Kyoshi fell asleep as well.

Rangi woke up just before dawn, shivering slightly from the morning dew. It didn’t take long for the soldier to get her bearings and realize that she’d fallen asleep in her armor, on the stream’s bank, next to Kyoshi. A soft fabric that smelled like the tall girl laid under head, and she took a moment to breathe in deeply. She could stay here all day...except she was pulling double shifts this week!

“Flameo! I’m going to be late for guard duty!” she jumped up and started running back to the main gate. Her outburst woke the tall girl, who picked up her tunic and followed Rangi. The two headed back more from memory than light, stumbling over a root or rock here and there.

“Rangi, your hairpin!” Kyoshi tossed the pin to Rangi who had questions, but no time to ask them. She caught it and got her topknot up without breaking pace just before the guards caught sight of them. The girls didn’t slow to see the guards glance at each other in a silent conversation about two teenagers going off by themselves and not returning till morning.

They separated after the gate, Kyoshi going off to her duties before Yun’s breakfast, and Rangi to take her place outside Yun’s room. She slid into place just as the shift change bell rang. She made it.

“Well hello Rangi!” Did Yun ever sleep? “You’re looking rather... scruffy....this morning.”

Rangi finally took the time to check herself over. She was a mess. Her armor was covered in dirt, most of her hair was not in the proper place. There was hardly a part of her that looked fit for duty.

“You know, Kyoshi was late for work this morning. I had to cover for her. I told them I gave her errands to run.”

“So what?”

“She wasn’t in her room. You never made it back to the barracks. And then you both come running back here looking all out of sorts.” There was only one way for him to know so quickly, he had to have been waiting for them, watching from the walls. “So, can I just say- Thank you, Rangi, for staying by my servant’s side, keeping her safe, until the errands reached a _satisfied_ conclusion.”

There was a crushing response, and maybe an actual crushing, ready; unfortunately, Master Jianzhu had turned the corner. Rangi snapped to attention. Yun always knew when he could torment her without retribution. She kept reminding herself of her oath to honor and protect the avatar, and his destiny in the world. She repeated it silently as she kept watch. It was just Jianzhu, but the moment she lost focus would be the moment a daofei assassin would strike.

* * *

Later, once Yun’s mind needed a break from Tagaka, he drafted a letter to Lu Beifong. He had recently discovered that the peninsula he resided on had no governor or noble placed in charge of its territory. The Earth Kingdom might have deemed this land so unimportant that it didn’t even warrant a leader, but he disagreed. 

He had a comrade who he thought would be perfect for the job. A person who would not interfere in the culture of the land, who would let the proud people carry themselves as they had for generations. A leader who would not throw her weight around, so to speak. This person was a peasant by birth, but this could easily be rectified by the right people. If someone could arrange for this person to be granted a title, and the land of Yokoya to govern, then they would not find Avatar Yun ungrateful. _Governess Kyoshi of Yokoya._

As for the meager taxes which would no longer find their way into the Beifong vault, well, he assured that the Governess would not require much of a salary. It went implied, but unsaid, that the Governess Kyoshi would be nothing but a figurehead. There was no way for the esteemed sages to lose even one ounce of authority.

This was how politics was done. If he wanted his best friend to have a title so she could marry his other best friend in a few years, he would have to dance around the issue. He would bribe Lu Beifong, but not in so many words. The meaning was clear enough in his letter, a Title for a Favor.

He signed the letter and went to work on another one for Clan Sei’naka. He gave Kyoshi a glowing recommendation, listing every quality that the Noble Clan would find appealing. He explained that Kyoshi’s family would be his family, and her clan would be his clan. This letter would not be sent for a few years, but it was good to start drafting it early.

Jianzhu found out about the letters despite Yun’s attempt to hide them, and he made his displeasure known with a strong right backhand across the face. His sifu’s face was red as he held the letters in his left hand, while Hei-Ran frowned behind him.

“How could you be so foolish, to trade your favors like coins?!” He shouted some more. He shouted of Yun disgracing his authority and opening himself up to be nothing more than a puppet. He said when Lu came to collect, the favor would be worth far more than a title and worthless land. Yun let himself be blinded by friendship and would be nothing but a lackey if not for him. The sage came close to striking his pupil a second time, he would have if Hei-Ran had not caught his forearm on the swing.

“It is my daughter’s life he’s interfering with. I will handle this.” The Avatar’s Firebending Sifu snatched the letters from Jianzhu’s hand and gave him a stern look that made him remember he was not the only one with power here, “Alone.”

Somehow, Jianzhu leaving the room didn’t make Yun feel any safer at the moment. He knew why his sifu hit him. What he did was stupid, Lu would give a little title, and ask a great favor in return. In the end, Yun would be used in an unfair trade; Jianzhu literally beat sense into him. Hei-Ran, on the other hand, was not so easy to read sometimes like now.

“You saw them, too?” Hei-Ran uncharacteristically sighed, rubbing her temples with her free hand. Rangi had missed breakfast, so she sent for her daughter only to have the servant report the girl was not in the barracks. Then the gate guards told her that Rangi and Kyoshi had left together in the middle of the night and were still not back. It was not a difficult puzzle to solve, and her suspicions were proven correct as the girls came running in like crazed hogmonkeys.

“Yes. I ju- “

“Quiet! You should know better than this!” Hei-Ran didn’t fancy herself a politician, but she knew about deals…mainly deals of surrender, “You do not leave your end of the bargain open; you fool. You make it clear what you’re willing to do, or you give them the advantage.”

“I apologize, I realize that.”

“See that you remember. And stay out of Rangi’s marriage. As her mother, it is my task to see that she’s happily matched. Do I make myself clear?”

“Transparently.” He said downtrodden, for now. He’d could have made a horrible mistake, he admitted that, but that didn’t mean that the whole idea was bad. He would have to speak with Lu in person and set up terms in no uncertain words. He would decide what reward the wealthy man would receive for giving Kyoshi a title, and he would come out on top. Avatar Yun would get what he desired, and Lu Beifong would be **_his_** puppet.

“I don’t believe you.” At least Yun knew now how Rangi never fell for his antics, she learned from her mother.

“I can’t help how you feel, Sifu.”

“You can. You can stay out of things that do not concern you.” The boy frustrated her, “I will see to it that Rangi is happy. If that means a marriage to a poor peasant, then I will arrange it.”

For the first time since Hei-Ran met the boy, he was at a loss for words. Good. It wasn’t his job to take care of Rangi, it was hers. True, that duty may soon fall to Kyoshi, but even then it was her job to make sure the mantle was passed; not Yun’s.

“I will handle the marriage, as is tradition, and you will stay out of this. Do I make myself clear?” she asked again. This time, he had a genuine look of sincerity,

“I will leave it to you, Master Hei-Ran.”

The letter to Lu Beifong was burned. The letter to her clan, Hei-Ran kept in her desk. The former headmistress didn’t want to challenge her Clan Elders to an Agni Kai if she didn’t have to. When the Sei’naka marriage council intervened to stop her match for Rangi, a recommendation from Avatar Yun might be the very thing to stop that from happening.

* * *

_**Bonus:** _

** Day 7690 in the Era of Kyoshi **

Rangi left her armor in the guest room Governor Te had provided. It would make too much noise for this stealth mission. She went out the window and up to the rooftop just after midnight. Moonlight lit her way across the roof and down to the ground in front of her lover’s room.

When she tapped on the shutters, they flew open with a burst of air, knocking her down into the mud. Kyoshi came to the windows, fans in her hands and ready to face the assailant. She should be angry, but honestly, she was proud. All the time she’d spent training her oaf hadn’t been a waste.

“Rangi!”

“Quiet you oaf.” She hissed in a whisper, picking herself of the ground, “Let me in.”

Kyoshi moved so Rangi had room to climb through the window. The mud that covered her clothes was no trouble for a waterbender, with a few movements of a fan the liquid left Rangi’s body and flew out the window, leaving no trace of filth.

The Avatar closed the shutters and began to apologize only to be cut off by Rangi stealing a kiss,

“Well done.” She stole another kiss and put a hand on her girlfriend’s chest, trying to push her back to the bed. But Kyoshi could only be moved by her own free will.

“That was a test?” The Avatar was all set up to grumble about the unreasonable hour, and the mission they were on, and the unfairness of sneak attacks.

“Shut up. I have to be out of here and on guard by dawn. Now get in bed, doofus.”

Despite what her friends may tell people, Kyoshi did have an actual brain in her skull, and she figured out that now would be a great time to shut up and follow orders. She let herself be pushed back to the bed and allowed Rangi to do as she pleased. For her obedience, Kyoshi was thoroughly rewarded.

After receiving her reward, she was gifted the opportunity to simply be with Rangi for a little while. The flame curled in close as Kyoshi held her tightly and enjoyed her warmth. It was hard not to be lulled into sleep by it all, but they couldn’t give into the temptation. This was the Earth Kingdom. Kyoshi had never, nor would ever hide her feelings for Rangi, but there was a line not to cross. If they were found sleeping together, the firebender would be forever dubbed ‘The Avatar’s Whore’, and this she would not allow. They just couldn’t get caught sleeping together out of wedlock.

So they had to stay awake, there was more at stake than dirty looks and rumors like the last time they had fallen asleep. Kyoshi absent mindedly toyed with Rangi’s hair as the thought brought her back to that time they fell asleep by the stream. She remembered being completely enamored by a beautiful girl in the moonlight, who came knocking on her window shutters not unlike she had done tonight.

Wait a minute…

“You were trying to seduce me!” she startled the woman in her arms, who managed to glare and look curious at the same time. Kyoshi had been under a lot of stress lately, but surely she hadn’t just figured that out.

“I succeeded.” She said flatly, gesturing to their naked and entangled bodies.

“No, that night when you came to my window after guard duty when we were kids.” It was so obvious now, why hadn’t she seen it?

“Oh. That night.” Rangi neither confirmed or denied her unsuccessful seduction, but with the firebender’s cheek resting on Kyoshi’s chest, she could feel her face heating up with a blush. It was all the confirmation the tall woman needed.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Kyoshi hit herself upside the head, angry at her younger self for missing the obvious signs.

“It would’ve worked if I could have come up with a decent haiku.” The blush continued; the dark was not enough to hide it.

“That was a haiku?”

“Clearly not, you thought I was having a fever hallucination.” After just a little thought, maybe a proper haiku would not have helped with an oblivious teenage Kyoshi.

Kyoshi burst out laughing, loud enough to wake the entire household, but neither remembered their situation. Rangi would have got out of the bed in a huff, but her lover’s strong arms held her in place.

“The poetry stuff wasn’t my idea! It was my mother’s!” Never in a million years would it be her idea to make a fool of herself in such a way.

“What?” Okay, it was official, Kyoshi was dreaming, there was no other explanation for it.

“Yeah, she told me to do it after I fell off the roof trying to impress you.”

“That sounds like something Kelsang would do.” Kyoshi was closer than she knew. Rangi confided in her that Kelsang came to give her relationship advice, and that he convinced her to find her own unique way to tell Kyoshi of her feelings. The story made Kyoshi cry and laugh, Kelsang had known about them. He’d been happy for them.

“Did he tell you about his bison scars?” she asked with a giggle as Rangi grabbed a nearby cloth, that turned out to be a soft robe belt, and wiped her tears away.

“Oh yeah.” She couldn’t imagine how painful that had to be, “I’m glad my failure didn’t measure up to his.”

“I’d call it a hard-earned victory.” In her reasoning anyway. If you told her at fifteen that she could have Rangi in her bed, but she’d carry a few scars as payment, she would’ve taken the deal without thinking twice. She still would, as a matter of fact.

“How do you call that a victory?”

“Well, the boy did make up for his mistake.” Or so Kyoshi had been told. The boy felt so bad about nearly killing him that he tended to him while he recovered and ‘made it up to him’ later. She hadn’t needed to ask how the repayment was made.

“He never told me that part.” She scoffed with slight indignation. That sneaky airhead. Though in all fairness, Rangi was stupid at that age, even she wouldn’t tell herself that a dangerous stunt would work out in the end. She would’ve been dead before her sixteenth birthday.

“I wonder why.”

“He probably knew that I’d kill myself before I got you to notice me.” And Rangi was embarrassed to admit that she agreed.

“Hey, I noticed you! I just didn’t think I had a chance.” She still wondered why Rangi put up with her sometimes and feared the day when the woman would finally wise up and leave her for better options.

“Don’t blame me, dummy, I tried to get it through your thick head.” When they were young, Rangi could have tore off her shirt and Kyoshi would just assume that she was meant to wash it, “I broke my ankle for you, you know.”

“Aw, do you want me to make it up to you?” Kyoshi comically puckered up exaggeratedly for a kiss. Her grip on Rangi slipped as the shorter woman managed to wriggle just enough to loosen the hold. She found herself being pinned down and not long after, her wrists tied to the headboard with the belt. Never let it be said Rangi was not resourceful.

“Yes.” Rangi whispered into her lover’s ear. Kyoshi’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest, “But some other time.”

The bodyguard jumped up and got dressed, that belt would not hold her strong girl for long. She was out of the room and closing the shutters behind her when she heard the fabric ripping.


	3. The Agni Kai(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rangi has to fight for the one she loves.

** Day 9106 in the Era of Kyoshi **

Rangi piloted Kyoshi’s air bison, ZhenZhen, through the dark sky to get away from the others. It wasn’t out of anger or spite, but anxiety. She was going to propose to Kyoshi soon, everything needed to be perfect, and to be perfect, it needed to be a secret. She was afraid that her nerves would tip her lover off, and that just couldn’t happen, the surprise was everything in a Fire Nation marriage proposal.

If Rangi wanted to do this right, she would find a secluded place; somewhere special. She would find some excuse to have Kyoshi meet her there, something believable. While she waited, she would prepare it with a ceremonial sitting rug, a box with Kyoshi’s favorite sweets wrapped up inside, and the proposal contract her mother prepared for them.

She would bow, as she was the lower ranking of the two, and present Kyoshi with the contract. Then she would kneel on the rug and wait with bated breath while her lover reviewed the terms. If her girlfriend wanted to marry her, she would eat the sweets in acceptance. If she did not, she would cast them aside in rejection.

The surprise was so important because of the kind of union it symbolized. Unions for benefits, lands, or wealth were prearranged by both families. The private ceremony was nothing more than a formality, the final step to sealing a business deal. There had been times when both people were unhappy in their match, and they would make it known to the world by preforming the ceremony in public. She saw it once as a child, a man bowed in the village square and knelt on the bare stones, and his betrothed simply nodded. Their families were humiliated, but the bargain was still struck, and now they had two children, their own rooms, and their own paramours to keep them warm.

To be surprised with a contract, though, it was a wonderful occurrence. It happened to people who married for love, not for power or for riches. Truth be told, Rangi had never entertained the idea, even when she was a child. When her young Fire Noble mind pictured her perfect marriage, she saw her betrothed was someone she was at least familiar with, and they fell in love quickly after the wedding. Being in love before marriage was never an option, and therefore a surprise proposal was out of the question. It simply didn’t happen for anyone born into the upper class.

Rangi didn’t want to marry the Avatar, no matter how high an honor that may be, she just wanted to marry her big oaf. She wanted to adopt their young ward and be a family. If Kyoshi found out too soon, it would be like telling the love of her life that she only wanted a marriage for the high statis it would give her. It was unacceptable. So, she would stay up all night and hold the reigns all the way to the Fire Nation while never speaking a word if she had to.

_Ooohhhh,_

_My love was a sailor out on the sea._

_He sent his love by hawk to me._

_He vowed to love me all his life._

_When he returned, I’d be his wife._

Rangi nearly broke her back to turn and look at the others when the sea shanty started. Of all the songs Kirima could sing, she had to choose one about a wife.

“Yo, topknot, you want to trade places for a while?” There was nothing, not a single thing, that was suggestive in her tone or words, but just a small wink in Rangi’s direction said _‘I know it’s finally time, Hairpin. You’re not fulling me with this “Kyoshi needs wilderness training in the Fire Nation” business’_.

“I’ll pass.” She barked, “And that better not be one of your filthier songs, Water Snake.”

“Suit yourself, I was just proposing an idea.” Typical. Kirima had found a letter Hei-Ran had sent her months ago, it talked of the proposal and that was all the waterbender needed. The next thing Rangi knew, she was purchasing Kirima’s silence with her prized butterflybear cloak. If she blew the surprise because of a shanty or her dumb hints, Rangi was going to feed her to a dragon. There was one living in the caverns just south of her village, it would be easy.

The shanty continued as if there had been no interruption. Kyoshi, Jinpa, and Wong joined in for the chorus. All seemed unaware of its significance at the moment.

_Oh, ho, never trust a man_

_who sends his love by hawk, not hand._

_There’s someone new in every port_

_he only loves you as a last resort._

_Oooooh,_

_I surprised my love at his port one day_

_“I’ll marry you right now”, I’d say_

_But when he walked down off the plank._

_A hag squeezed him, six kids in rank._

_Oh, ho, never trust a man_

_who sends his love by hawk, not hand._

_In every nation he has a lover_

_who thinks that he has found no other._

_Ooooh,_

_Well I could not let this insult pass_

_And his sister has a real nice-hrmmp!_

“Not in front of Koko.” Kyoshi hissed in a whisper, her hand covering Kirima’s mouth, “I will throw you off this bison.”

Kirima was furious at the outlandish censorship of the arts, but then she smacked the giant hand away to look the Avatar in the eyes and found no lie in them. She decided that artistic accuracy wasn’t worth waterbending her way to the nearest shore.

 _“-nice personality”_ she grumbled.

_So I kissed her hard and I kissed her long._

_Now we be wed, that ends my song._

_Oh, ho, never trust a man_

_who sends his love by hawk, not hand._

_Get your revenge by getting a wife_

_And-_

“KISS!”

_-her hard for all your life._

The Fire Captain rolled her eyes as they finished the song, a five-year-old giggling and demanding the group do ‘The barkeep’s daughter’ next. With influences from ‘Aunt Kirima and Uncle Wong’, and the surprising support of Kyoshi and Jinpa, it was going to be a never-ending uphill battle to keep the girl from having a sailor’s mouth. Rangi could only imagine what words the child heard when she or Kyoshi were not present to threaten the daofei with bodily harm.

The songs continued, slowly going from upbeat tunes to slow lullabies in hopes Koko wouldn’t catch on that the team was working together to lull her to sleep. Like any child, she hated bedtime. She had accused them, as well as a little girl could accuse, of putting her to bed so they could go have fun without her. Which to be fair, sometimes she was right, just not in the way she thought. But most of the time they celebrated a sleeping child by getting work done that Koko unknowingly delayed while she was awake.

“Rangi.” Kyoshi said softly behind her, Rangi uncharacteristically jumped out of her skin, “Easy soldier, we’re not under attack.” She giggled, kissing her just behind the ear. “Koko wants you.” This was a good sign for the adults. Koko always wanted Rangi when she was tired; she wanted to curl up to her warmth. They feared the day when the little girl made the connection between wanting to cuddle with Rangi and being tired. For that was the day when bedtime became impossible.

“Okay.” The firebender carefully maneuvered around her big woman and took a seat in the saddle with the others. Koko wasn’t shy about crawling up on her lap and claiming to be cold. She quietly sang a song about two dragons in love while rubbing the child’s back until she fell asleep.

Rangi followed her example not long after.

* * *

“A whistle and a scroll. Wow when you told me you had a special engagement present; I was expecting something a little less run-of-the-mill trinkets.” Atuat expected something extraordinary; a private little island or at the very least a twenty-foot statue of the couple.

“I couldn’t give them a greater gift.” Hei-Ran said with confidence. She really couldn’t do any better, in any sense of the word. Her title, wealth, land, her home, they all passed down to Rangi the second her topknot came off. The once-proud headmistress lived and thrived off her daughter’s mercy like the honorless, homeless panhandler she was. These two items were among the few things she could claim as hers.

“Oh yeah? They have a sentimental value I take it?”

“Yes.” She toyed with the bison whistle Kelsang used in a wager. A part of her wanted to hold on to it, a keepsake from her best friend, but that would not be right. She was never meant to have it forever and since Kelsang was gone, it was Kyoshi’s by right. Her inheritance.

“Well?” Atuat plopped down on the trunk the two items had come from, “Let’s hear about it.”

“This belonged to Kyoshi’s father.” She zoned out, her mind trapped in memories, “I said our daughters wouldn’t last as a couple, and he said they would. So, he made a bet; he said to give it back when our daughters announced their engagement. He never did understand the rules of wagers.”

What a fool she had been to accept the whistle. It was an error that should’ve been made by a new recruit, not a seasoned officer. If she just gave it back, or even remembered that she was in possession of the damn whistle that day when Jianzhu took Kyoshi and Yun to see Father Glow worm... Kelsang would still be alive.

If she, or Kelsang (as she reasoned to herself in her more positive days) had remembered that she had a whistle that could be used to **SUMMON A SKY BISON** , then perhaps the nomad could have called Pengpeng back before Jianzhu sacrificed Yun. If nothing else, he might have made an escape with Kyoshi. And when Yun came back, Kelsang could lovingly talk the boy away from his revenge and help him make peace with himself. Such a simple, and costly, mistake made by letting her panic over the missing children countermand her -their- common sense.

“I’m sure Kyoshi will appreciate having something to remember him by.” Atuat squeezed Hei-Ran’s bicep sympathetically, “Now who is this other one from?” Instead of waiting for an answer, she opened the scroll and read the contents. Her eyes got as big as saucers as she realized just who wrote the letter. It was hard to picture Yun, the young man who destroyed everything he touched, writing such nice things. “Are you sure about this one, though? He was a monster at the end.”

“He was their friend. I guarantee you that they place the blame for his crimes on my shoulders.” The girls loved her, she knew, but there would always be a simmering ember of resentment amongst the flowers of affection in their hearts. Yun was a good boy, bright and caring and ready to help those in need. Her inaction led to his insanity. He became a mad tiger dog, attacking anything that scorned him, and they had to put down their best friend like a common rabid beast. They may love her, but for that offense, they would never forgive her. “Rightfully so.”

“Hey, buck up. This is supposed to be a happy occasion,” the waterbender rolled up the scroll and handed it back, “don’t tarnish it with the past.”

“I suppose you’re right.” This was supposed to be a time of love and family bonds, her guilt could be hidden for now. Hei-Ran forced a smile as she wrapped the gifts in a cloth and placed them into a small wooden box decorated with two gold dragons circling the family symbol, their front paws touching at the claws and their tails intertwining at the bottom; something she had to have Rangi order on her behalf, “No more talk of this, they should be here soon.”

A servant knocked on the door. There were really only two possibilities. One, a person needed Atuat’s healing touch, as people flocked to their little island to seek the treatment only a waterbender could provide. Two, a bison had been spotted in the distance.

“Yes?”

“There is an embassy from the Saowon Clan, Hei-Ran.” That could not be good. The Saowon Clan had been trying their luck, slowly and cautiously, at regaining their former glory. They disavowed Chaejin and -now formerly-Lady Huazo, and then publicly swore their eternal allegiance to their true Fire Lord, Zoryu. They would have no dealings with the royal family, but there were other ways to get power in the Fire Nation, spiritual power like Kyoshi held for instance.

She went to greet the guests with a stern look of neutrality, she wanted to give off the illusion their presence was of no real consequence to her.

“My Lords,” she greeted with a low bow, “what is your business here?” She was regarded by them as if she were no more than a servant. Less than a servant, even, as even servants were granted the names of those they encountered, and Hei-Ran received no introduction.

“We are here to challenge Rangi of Clan Sei'naka to an Agni Kai.” They had no business with this honorless goatpig and were growing impatient.

“For what offense?” As if she had to ask why they would show up on this day.

“Not for offense, for honor. We are putting forth members to challenge Rangi of Clan Sei’naka for the honor of presenting her proposal contract to Avatar Kyoshi. Now be a good girl and fetch the mistress of this house.” It really hadn’t needed to be them, the Sei’Naka could provide a messenger for any of the clans, but they wanted to take the chance of getting into Rangi’s head before the duels began. The Captain was known to be short-tempered, and they wanted to stroke that temper outside of the arena in hopes of making her stupid in her anger.

“She’s not here yet.” She glared sharply, “You may leave your message with me.”

“You’d best see that she gets this, or you will pay the consequences.” The leader grunted after a moment of personal debate, there was more to preparing for a duel than aggravating the enemy. They could simply not afford to spend too much time idly waiting. 

“Consider me warned.”

A letter of challenge passed hands, and Hei-Ran returned inside. Any joyous mood she had been experiencing suddenly vanished. This wouldn’t be the first duel her daughter had fought, it wouldn’t even be the first duel over Kyoshi, but there was more at stake this time. If Rangi lost, she would have to hand over her proposal contract to the victor. They would present it as their own, and her daughter would lose the right to propose to Kyoshi entirely. Rangi could not lose.

Hei-Ran paced the floor while she thought this new development over.

* * *

Koko grumbled as the bison landed, furious that she had been permitted to fall asleep, but not awake enough yet to voice her outrage publicly. She looked at the new scenery with passing fascination until she saw one of her favorite people in the whole wide world.

“You!” Koko could not remember the woman’s name. She only remembered that the last time they had visited her, she put up her hair like Rangi’s and they played army. And now that the woman was in sight, Koko had important news to share, “I lost a tooth! See!”

Rangi lowered the child to the ground and let her run up to Hei-Ran, pointing at the gap in her teeth as she did so. The honorary grandmother scooped her up and held her on the hip as she excitedly told the story of how it happened. Kyoshi put an arm around Rangi’s shoulders as they were abandoned in favor of the older woman.

_“We should set out.”_ Rangi mouthed, not wanting to catch Koko’s attention and have her demand to come with them. She would leave Kyoshi on the East coast of the island with instructions to use her training to find her way through the tropical forest to the little waterfall on the edge of her family’s estate. That should give her plenty of time to have everything set up before noon.

“Captain, I’m afraid you can’t leave yet.” Hei-Ran hated to have to ruin this for Rangi, but she had no choice. A challenge had been issued for the Avatar’s hand, and she could not propose before the matter was settled, “You have personal business to attend to.” She regretfully took the letter out of her belt and gave it to her daughter, “For your eyes only.”

The young Captain moved away from her lover’s embrace to open the ominous mail. As she read, her heart sunk a little more with each word. The proposal would have to be put on hold for now, and until further notice it seemed. Many members of the Saowon Clan were challenging her, the daughter of an honorless woman, right to marry such an important figure.

“Kyoshi, I want you to practice your forms, I’ll be back later.”

“Rangi, what’s this about?”

“Fire Nation politics. I need you to stay out of it. Last time you got involved in this sort of thing, you nearly caused a civil war.”

“But I didn’t.” Kyoshi huffed, honestly, she thought the stuffy Fire Nationals and all their dumb, easily offended, cultural norms deserved most of the blame.

“Kyoshi. Stay put.” Hopefully, she could put this matter to rest today, but she doubted it. If one clan had gotten wind of her proposal, then there was a good chance that everyone knew. Rangi was willing to bet her last copper piece that there would be many more nobles from every clan waiting at the village’s Elder Hall to challenge her.

* * *

She wasn’t wrong. The Elder’s Hall was packed, there were bannermen holding poles with their clan sigils, and their clan gathered around them. It gave off the effect that the building had been divided into territories, Saowon to the front right, Sei’Naka front and center surrounding the Elder’s Table, Keohso to the front left, and so on. Each Clan had sent an elder, who joined the Sei’Naka elders at the place of honor, they spoke amongst themselves in a calm way that made them seem unaware of the chaos around them. Everyone else helped to cause a loud uproar with their squabbling that could surely be heard by the entire village. It became hushed as a gong signaled Rangi’s arrival. People moved when she stepped forward, clearing a path for her all the way to the front.

“My elders.” She greeted with a low bow, “I’m responding to a summons for an Agni Kai.”

“Rangi. Many members of the Fire Nation have challenged you for your proposal contract. Do you accept, or yield?”

There was no need to look around the room to see how many adversaries she would face, it didn’t matter. She would fight the entire nation if she had to. With a deep and even breath she turned to face the crowd, “I accept your challenge.”

“Very well. Normally, an Agni Kai would take place at sunset, but all of the elders have agreed that with all of the contenders, we should get started as soon as possible. Rangi, report to the platform in an hour for your first duel.”

“Yes, my elders.” She bowed again and walked out with a certain confidence in her step that she hoped would give some of them second thoughts about fighting her.

* * *

The entire island manifested in the arena by the time Rangi was scheduled to duel. She looked around the area, scared that she would see Kyoshi’s gold headdress glinting in the sunlight against the sea of red. There was no overstating the firebender’s relief to find her giant was one of a few not in attendance.

An armor stand had been placed at each opponent’s entrance, each with an assistant who would ceremoniously take off the fighter’s armor and place it carefully on the display. While Rangi needed no help shedding the protective layers, she stood still and let the attendant preform their task without argument.

The two servants worked in perfect unison to remove their fighter’s shirts next, leaving Rangi in her chest wraps. The sleeveless shirt was folded and put onto a small table next to her armor. Ribbons with the Sei’Naka symbol were tied around her biceps, and cloth greaves tied around her shins.

The rivals walked up opposite steps of the platform; eyes locked on their respective elders. They turned their backs to the other, and had a fine ritual cloth draped over their shoulders which also bore their clan insignia. Rangi dropped to one knee while she waited for the gong to sound. The suspense was terrible, it had the whole crowd in a hush and Rangi could hear every heartbeat in her chest. _You don’t lose duels,_ she reminded herself silently, _you are perfect or you are nothing_.

“Chin-Mae of Clan Saowon challenges Rangi of Clan Sei’Naka for the honor of presenting her proposal contract to the Avatar.” The Lady Magistrate, chosen by the Fire Sages to ensure fair judgment on behalf of the Avatar, announced. Rangi found it almost impossible not to scoff, Kyoshi’s name had been left out of the dispute declaration. It was fitting, though, she was the only person in the arena who cared who the Avatar was underneath the title and heavy makeup. Almost none of these people would recognize her if they passed her in the streets on a normal day, even with her unusual size. When Kyoshi ventured out in normal attire, people often claimed she was even taller than the Avatar, and their wonderment ended there. “Begin!”

The gong was struck, Rangi stood and turned, shedding the large cloth as she did so, and finally faced her adversary. Chin-Mae was not tall with a bulky form that would be more suited to an earthbender than a firebender. In fact, if he shaved his traditional sideburn beard and wore green, he would pass for an Earth Kingdom Citizen with no problem. Later, as Rangi went over her performance, she would wonder if he challenged her because a marriage to the Avatar would overshadow any rumors about his mother’s infidelity with an Earth General or something of the sorts. 

Not one to practice Neutral Jing, or to waste time, Rangi spun a kick, sending a long flame arch at Chin-Mae’s feet to break his stance, and followed it up with a few fire punches aimed at his chest. His size didn’t make him slow. He jumped over the blaze and used his own fire as a shield against the smaller bursts of flame.

She didn’t let him sit still for a moment, with precision, she chased his movements with small, but well-placed bursts of flame, conserving her energy while making him spend his. He had to block and dodge, using up so much stamina that he barely had time to send any attacks her way. 

Rangi moved in closer with the next set of moves, creating a circle of fire which he had no choice but to jump through. Chin-Mae’s topknot was singed as it touched the ring of flame, but he paid no mind as he tucked and rolled, moving into her space slightly faster than she was ready for. The crowd let out a collective gasp as the young woman was taken by surprise.

He knocked her forearm out of the way with one quick swipe and sent a small burst with his free hand. Rangi was forced to fall back to protect her face from the incoming attack. She was agile, though, and she angled her head to send a burst of flame to the ground, which propelled in into a full backflip and placed her on her feet once again; a move she had copied from the airbenders she knew. Though a fire burst was not as graceful as an airburst, it did its job and put the rivals back on equal footing.

The unorthodox maneuver had the crowd murmuring amongst themselves as Chin-Mae continued the assault, trying to use her plan against her and tire her out. She dodged one, two, three blasts before she saw an opening, and hooked a foot behind his knee. She quickly pulled her foot back and sent a fiery punch straight to his chest.

As he fell the gong rang. The fight was over. Rangi helped Chin-Mae over to the medics that rushed onto the platform. He would forever bear a scar, but he would be otherwise alright. A successful start to a long process.

“Rangi of Clan Sei’Naka has defeated Chin-Mae of Clan Saowon in an honorable Agni Kai and has secured the right to present her proposal contract to the Avatar.” The Lady Magistrate declared, and then she asked the crowd the traditional question, no matter how redundant it was under the circumstances, “Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge this right?”

Many more people stood. This was going to take weeks. The law said that a single person could only fight six Agni Kai’s a day. How long had it been since someone even had the opportunity to fight six duels in one day; let alone six duels a day for an undetermined amount of time.

“The victor has the right to have rest and medical attention if she should require it. We will reconvene in thirty minutes.”

The gong struck, and a sand timer was turned to countdown the minutes.

* * *

She snuck into the house by crawling through her mother’s window, armor over her shoulder, around noon. She laid still on the rug next to her breastplate for a few minutes bearing a few minor injuries from the last two fights. By Agni Kai rules, if both parties got burned at the same time, then the one who took the most damage lost the duel. This meant Rangi had won and kept her contract for now, but she needed to get Atuat to heal her wounds before tomorrow and before Kyoshi found out.

“Have you sorted this out yet?” Hei-Ran bent down to ask flatly, her hands clasped behind her back. 

“There’s so many challengers.” She stifled a groan, jumping to stand straight and proud.

“You’ve been burned.” She looked her daughter over; they’d gotten her left shoulder and right knee. This would not do, not if she had only begun to scratch the surface of other suitors.

“I won the duel.” Rangi replied indignantly. She wasn’t the only great firebender in the nation. The islands were full of skilled fighters and she had to fight one after the other. No one could come out of those fights completely unscathed, even with time to rest any victor would still find themselves growing weary after the first three. She’d pushed through the trials like any soldier of the Sei’Naka Clan should. Her victories were perfect under the circumstances. 

“By the skin of your teeth, it seems. How do you expect to defeat the rest after such a sloppy victory?” Her daughter was great, she had the potential to be the best, but she sometimes needed a drill instructor’s tone to drive her to reach her full potential. Rangi would win without injury from now on just to spite her mother,

“How would you know? You weren’t even there.” She knew she shouldn’t be so critical in her tone right now. It’d just been a horrible day. She should be proposing right now, not arguing whether or not her six Agni Kai’s were truly successful.

“That is not my choice.” She had no honor, and she would never be welcome to witness an honorable Agni Kai again, even if one of the participants was her own daughter. It was a nerve-wracking position for a mother to find herself in, “Now don’t change the subject, young lady. By allowing yourself to be burned, you lost your chance to appear untouchable and boosted your rivals’ morale.”

“Maybe I should kill one or two of them to send a message to the rest just like you.” Rangi glared accusingly, tired of her mother’s high-and-mighty attitude. “You’ll forgive me if I spare our family members.” She left, nearly knocking her mother’s shoulder, but deciding against it at the last second.

It was only after she stormed off that she realized her mistake. There was a child in the hall, no doubt following the grey-haired firebender. When Koko caught sight of her, her eyes barely registered who she was looking at before immediately traveling to Rangi’s wounds. The captain raised a hand, going in a motion to shush the child before she could alert the others. But she wasn’t fast enough.

“KyKy! Raingy’s got an owie!” She called loud enough for the whole island to hear. Rangi rubbed her temples as Kyoshi rounded the corner.

“Rangi, what happened?” Too late. Kyoshi told Koko to go play with Uncle Wong, grabbed Rangi by the uninjured arm and dragged her to the estate’s bathhouse without waiting for an answer. The taller woman shoved her in the waters unceremoniously and got right to the healing.

The firebender wanted to protest that she was fine, to get away from Kyoshi before she demanded an in-depth explanation, but she was afraid that the act of speaking would spark her lover’s curiosity. She sat in the waters, stiff as a board, as the Avatar knelt beside her to do her work.

“Are you going to tell me what happened now?” she asked as the water glowed over the burn on her shoulder.

“It’s none of your business, Kyoshi.” She didn’t necessarily snap at her girlfriend, but she made sure there was enough annoyance in her voice to convey a lack of patience for backtalk.

“Oh no? How is it if I stub my toe, you have a right to know how, but when you’re burned, it’s none of my business?” Kyoshi did snap, not enjoying this double standard where she wasn’t permitted to worry about Rangi’s safety.

“Because I am your bodyguard.” And now Rangi was angry, too. This was her business, and Kyoshi was about to ruin everything with her inquisitiveness. After all these years, she would think that the Avatar would trust her. Between the two of them, she was less likely to run needlessly into danger; that was Kyoshi’s style, not hers.

“Alright then, my bodyguard.” Kyoshi said with the formal and menacing tone she used with corrupt politicians. If Rangi wanted to play that way, so be it. If Rangi wanted to play the job tile, then she would remind her lover that she was the boss, “As your Avatar, I order you to tell me who hurt you.”

“I fought in an Agni Kai, alright? I’m alive, and they’re dealing with much worse. Are you happy now?” No, Rangi knew that wasn’t enough information. Kyoshi would be fully intending on getting more information on the duel. She was saved by an uninvited, but extremely welcome, guest.

“You’re going to leave a scar if you rush it.” Atuat said plain and simply from the doorway, “You go on now, I’ll take care of the firecracker.”

Kyoshi gave another glare to Rangi, but she couldn’t argue with Atuat. Her sifu was the best healer perhaps in the whole world and if she really loved the stubborn firebender, she would relinquish her position to the better option.

The Avatar was not prepared to give up, though. And she knew where to go for information. Hei-Ran had delivered a message, Rangi left to attend to business, she came back with burns. It stood to reason that her girlfriend’s mother would have the answers she wanted.

“Hei-Ran!” The older woman was caught by surprise as the Avatar called her name from behind. Kyoshi didn’t comment on the way she put a sleave to her eyes in a clear attempt to wipe away tears; it would only embarrass the proud woman and that’s not what she’d sought out to do, “That letter; it was for me, wasn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Rangi goes and fights an Agni Kai after you give her a letter. It was from some noble trying to set up a meeting to discuss a marriage, wasn’t it?” She’d gotten several such messages, both in letter form and personal emissary. The nobles of the Fire, Earth, and Water nations had been after her for marriage since she became of age. In the Fire Nation, Rangi typically answered these invitations with an Agni Kai. It made sense, but why was her lover trying to hide it from her now?

“Yes, it was over you, but it was a personal challenge to her, so it is none of your business.” Hei-Ran said with the same uninterested tone of a commander explaining an order to a private, “You should understand, you’ve kept secrets from Rangi. And you were right to. Jesa was none of Rangi’s concern, no matter how offended she may have been not to know sooner.”

Kyoshi had not heard a single word after the name ‘Jesa’ came out of Hei-Ran’s mouth, “You knew my mother?” She had never spoken the name in front of the former headmistress out of fear. She could see it now, Hei-Ran would call her the offspring of pigsnakes and prohibit her to see Rangi. Her daughter deserved a princess from a proud line, not a child of disgraced reprobates.

“Only by name. Kelsang told me about her.”

“How did he know?!” Kyoshi had never told him about Jesa, they had moved past the need to know by the time she grew comfortable enough to tell him about her. It simply hadn’t mattered to her then. Jesa and Hark were terrible people who she didn’t care enough about to give a single sentence to. They stopped being her true parents the moment they abandoned her.

“It wasn’t hard for him to figure out. You had basic thieving skills, and you are clearly a child of two nations.” She noticed that Kyoshi was staring at her with an unspoken question in her eyes. _How could you possibly know my heritage?_ “Have you ever met an Earth Citizen who met you at your height? I have not. There are very few that even come close. The Air Nomads, however, are a naturally tall people.”

When a Nomad referred to one of their own children as ‘tall’ the rest of the world knew they would soon see a giant; not unlike Kyoshi. 

“Rangi didn’t know.” Not until it came to light at the teahouse that served as a horrible front for the Flying Opera Company.

“Yes, I’m aware.” Hei-Ran couldn’t believe her daughter had been surprised to learn that Kyoshi was half Air Nomad, “The girl was not only struck stupid by love. She was also blinded by it. She must’ve been too busy trying to count your freckles to put two and two together.” Hei-Ran was sure that if Rangi had taken a moment to stop staring at the parts to look at the whole, she would not have been so stunned.

Kyoshi laughed loudly, the notion of Rangi being a lovestruck idiot was too comical not to. It was nice to know her ‘perfect or nothing’ woman was not always so flawless as she’d like people to think.

Hei-Ran could go on with details about Kelsang and his investigation. How Jesa was famous amongst her people for dishonoring herself and running off with an earthbending thief. How Kyoshi was born in the probable timeframe the two lowlifes could’ve produced a child, and how Kyoshi matched her mother’s description rather well. But Kyoshi was having too much fun laughing at Rangi’s childish crush, and she saw no reason to end her merriment with boring details. 

“Dare I ask what’s so amusing?” Rangi found them and eyed them with suspicion. Her mother was many things, funny was not among them, “What are you two plotting?” Ever since the incident with Yun and her mother’s near-death experience, Rangi kept an eye on these two. They seemed to have reached an arrangement, a pact; _You don’t tell on me, I won’t tell on you. We’ll wait until Rangi’s head is turned to go about our foolhardy and dangerous plan._ Rangi’s wish to have her mother and her girlfriend get along came true, but it backfired. They were not to be trusted without supervision.

“I thought you said going fast would cause scarring.” Kyoshi ignored her lover in favor of addressing Atuat. That was a quick healing session, she was meant to believe Atuat was finished already?

“I said if **_you_** go fast it’ll cause scarring.” She replied in her normal, haughty, manner, “Now don’t change the subject, we could use a good joke.”

“We were just laughing about Rangi being a dumb, lovestruck teenager.”

“Me?” Rangi was the lovestruck teenager, really? Oh, she may have pulled off a few stupid stunts, but between the two, Kyoshi was the worst offender. When they were younger, the firebender could have the avatar in the palm of her hand with just a sway of her hips. To tell the truth, Kyoshi had not grown out of the habit. “She tripped over her own two feet because I touched her hand.”

“Rangi ran into a tree once because I took off my top tunic to train.”

“Oh, you want to bring that up? You almost fell off a cliff when you saw my chest wraps for the first time.”

“What about the time-“

“Hush, Kyoshi.” Atuat scolded the avatar like she would a cheeky toddler , “I want to hear more about the cliff.”

“Enough!” Hei-Ran breathed steam, “We already have a five-year-old on the grounds, so we have no need of three, bigger five-year-old’s running around. Rangi, Kyoshi, has it escaped your attention that your daughter is getting a lesson in lock-picking?”

If one were to look down the way and a bit to the left, they would see Kirima, Wong, and Koko surrounding a large, locked chest. The child at the center with a set of picklocks in her hand; her tongue stuck out in concentration as her teachers went over the process step by step.

“I’m going to kill them.” Fire sprouted from Rangi’s fists, and towards the other three, as she propelled forward at high speeds.

“Please don’t!” Kyoshi called, patting the fire out on her sleeve.

* * *

Kyoshi was asleep, Rangi was not. She watched her tall woman breathe in and out as she considered the turn of events. Things were still tense between the two because Rangi had been avoiding her lover’s attempts to talk about the Agni Kai’s. She didn’t know what she could do to relieve friction between them. The thought occurred to the captain that she could just talk to Kyoshi, explain that she wanted to marry her, and she had been wanting to do it right. It wasn’t like her oaf was as traditional as she was, she probably couldn’t care less that she knew before the proper time.

As much as Rangi wanted to do this the proper way, she would make the sacrifice if it wouldn’t have consequences. Kyoshi, with her lack of tact, would interfere. The Avatar would just snap her fingers and degree that Rangi’s contract is undisputable, but then the tension that ceased between the couple would be amplified between the clans. They’d accuse the Avatar of favoritism, like they weren’t trying to win her hand to use her power for themselves, and use it as an excuse to fight.

So, Rangi wasn’t left with much of a choice, she needed to get Kyoshi off the island before she did something well-meaning and stupid. She crawled out of bed and changed from her nightdress into Kyoshi’s shirt, it practically served as a robe, and crept out of the bedroom. There was no sound from her as she moved through the mansion until she knocked on one of the guestroom doors.

“Is something wrong?” Jinpa asked as he slid the door open, his voice conveyed a state of being; one of eyes filled with sleep and tussled hair, if he had any.

“I need to speak to you. It’s important.”

He moved aside, an invitation to come in an discuss the late-night problem. Rangi sat at the desk chair while Jinpa took a seat on the bed. She took a deep breath and began to confess why they were really in the Fire Nation. She told him about the traditions involving proposals and politics involving the challengers. She ended the conversation with a request.

“So, you want me to make up a mission?”

“No, it can be something that really needs to be handled.” As much as Kyoshi needed a break, the Avatar couldn’t just loaf around for too long, “Just nothing too dangerous while I’m stuck here.”

“I can go through the requests and make something sound more important than it is?” Jinpa was a good secretary for Kyoshi, and a better stooge for Rangi. It was no secret that the Avatar was his boss, but the Avatar’s Bodyguard was his **_boss_**. It was something he would state plainly when he was caught openly defying Kyoshi in service to Rangi. The firebender scared him more than the Avatar, or ‘the big doofus’ to their close associates, ever could.

“I appreciate it. After we get this sorted, you should probably take some time off.” The poor monk had been stressed in service to Kyoshi, he needed a vacation from the stubborn Avatar.

“I could certainly use it.” He sighed, Rangi could relate. Kyoshi could feel like a trial from the universe sometimes, “Uh, before you go, may I ask why you’re wearing Kyoshi’s shirt?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Okay then.” He didn’t want to think on the question anymore. There was work to be done, anyway, he needed to get started.

Rangi thanked him for his trouble and left him to his work. Kyoshi would know she was gone by now. Truthfully, it didn’t take either of them long to realize they were alone in bed thanks to Rangi’s warmth and Kyoshi’s weight; one would notice the missing piece within a minute or two. If her lover hadn’t come looking for her already, it was either because she was angry or she thought Rangi was looking for space. That would not last long, though. No matter what the reason, Kyoshi would find her soon, and she needed to be prepared.

She made her way to the kitchen and started to firebend some water for tea. She didn’t hear the sounds of footsteps through the house, but that didn’t mean anything. Kyoshi was on her way, silently walking through the mansion like any good servant, Rangi could feel it.

“You stole my shirt,” Bare arms wrapped around her from behind, and lips pressed to her neck, “but I think it looks better on you, anyway.”

For one brief moment, Rangi thought her plan worked. For just one shining moment, as Kyoshi’s mouth peppered kisses along her exposed skin, as she maneuvered her to turn so she could kiss her better, and copped a feel of her ass; she knew her lover was successfully distracted by lust and unable to ask questions. But then, after a final long kiss, Kyoshi sighed and rested her chin on top of the black hair.

“Nice try.” She whispered in the quiet room, a hand slipped down to caress the skin of Rangi’s thigh just below where her improvised robe ended, “A really, **_really_** , nice try.” She said wistfully, like there was a big part of her that wanted to ignore the hippoelephant in the room for just a little while longer, “But I’m not falling for it.”

“Falling for what?” she couldn’t even sound innocent. With an indignant huff, she gave up the act before she even really started. Leaving Kyoshi’s arms, she poured two cups of tea, and took hers to sit on a stool by the preparation island.

“I wish you would tell me what’s going on.” The avatar grabbed the second cup and pulled up a stool beside her, “I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“No, but you couldn’t help if you did.” Rangi didn’t let Kyoshi reply, “Kyoshi, this is something I need to handle by myself. I know that’s hard for you to accept. I know if you said the same thing to me, I’d be breaking a few training dummies.”

“And chairs, and tables, and beds.” Kyoshi deadpanned, skipping her usual joke about the world leaders not inviting them to stay because Rangi kept destroying their furniture.

“Yeah, but I need you to trust me on this, okay? Once I get my position sorted out, I’ll tell you everything. Until then, I need you to leave Fire Nation politics to Fire Nationals.”

“Why can’t you tell me now? Explain this to me. I swear not to do or say anything impulsive.”

“You can’t understand how this works. Why can’t you give me this one secret? Just for a little while, I want to have something to myself.”

“Excuse me for taking an interest in your troubles.” Kyoshi growled, throwing her full cup in the sink, “I know I’m just a stupid oaf. Hell, I’d probably just cause the greatest war in recorded history if I dared to help. Deaths by the thousands.”

“Kyoshi-“

“No.” she almost pointed at her, almost making an argument, before stilling her hand in a stopping motion for herself, “I’ll leave it to the smart people. I’ll just go help with a problem that’s a little more suited to my comprehension. There’s probably a crazed hogchicken wreaking havoc somewhere. I have to go save the public from its cruelty. ”

Kyoshi stormed off, taking the door outside and leaving Rangi to cry in her tea.

* * *

Rangi hadn’t been in shape to fight her next six duels, but she’d won. They were hard victories, her movements far more sloppy than yesterday. Her opponents took notice and tried to capitalize on her weakness, but she’d prevailed anyway.

She got home and received no lecture from her mother, and Rangi found herself feeling worse than if she had got chewed out for her miserable performance. Kyoshi and the rest of the team were already gone. She’d gotten a quick kiss and an ‘I love you’, but the woman was clearly still mad at her. The words had been stilted, and the kiss uninterested. There had been no fight to stay or effort to make Rangi leave with her. That hurt a lot, too.

And that was Rangi’s life for the next three weeks. Loneliness and misery and exhaustion began taking its toll on the firebender, and there she was barely through half of the challengers. At night she would lay awake and wonder if this would ever end. Perhaps by the time she finished with these rivals, there would be new people come of age and issue a challenge as well. And when she got through with those, she’d celebrate only to find more new adults wanted the Avatar for themselves.

_“Hello, Rangi.” A sickeningly sweet voice came out like venom from a viperbat’s twisted smirk._

_“Koulin.” Rangi was only surprised because Koulin was already married. She’d received a rather smugly worded invitation to her wedding to the Fire Lord’s minister of wealth; a man who was old enough to be their grandfather. It was suspected by everyone, except the old man, that she was expecting him to die soon, and she couldn’t wait to take his fortune and land a far more youthful husband, “Did your husband die of old age already?”_

_“I’m here as a champion to Chaejin.” Ah, that was her game, getting that traitor back into his clan through a marriage even the Fire Lord couldn’t ignore. “I don’t want your pathetic excuse for an Avatar.”_

_Rangi had never killed during an Agni Kai, but that was the closest she’d ever came to giving into the temptation._

When she did sleep, she had nightmares. She had dreams were Kyoshi left her for someone new, someone who thought her to be the smartest person in the world. She and her new person would laugh at Rangi’s tears and proclamations of love. Other times, Kyoshi was curled up in a corner, and Rangi listened in horror as the worse insults came out of her own mouth, making the love of her life cry.

It was the twenty-sixth day of challenges, and Rangi was so very tired. Her training pushed her to go through the first duel without any incident, and the second, only a minor burn to the forearm while her opponent held her leg while they carried her out. A normal day so far.

After the pre-established thirty minutes to rest and get patched up, the third Agni Kai began. Rangi pitied the younger man, he went to rush her. She could only assume that he hoped his bold move would come enough of a surprise that she couldn’t retaliate. He burned her at the left hip joint, very well actually, but she got him better. She called out for the medics to take him to her mansion for treatment. Hopefully Atuat could stop him from having scars on most of his chest and up his neck.

She wanted to go home for treatment herself, but there was no way for her to get there, get healed, and get back in time. There was ointment put on her burn and a dry cloth wrapped around the wound to protect it. Rangi limped onto the platform for her next duel. That duel ended up with some burnt hair, nothing more.

The fifth gong sounded. Something was amiss. This woman didn’t put up a pretense of wanting to win. She was trying to get a strong flame to Rangi’s uninjured hip, no other body part seemed to interest her. Rangi went from simply trying to claim a victory, to trying to claim a victory without sacrificing a hip in the process. There were many times she could have ended the fight, but she couldn’t do so without taking damage she couldn’t afford to take. Until finally she had no choice.

Rangi truly feared for the rival’s life, really, she did. She’d charged up and breathed white flame in close distance. Atuat would have her work cut out for her as the woman was rushed out. Rangi won, but she’d sacrificed her right knee, to say nothing of her self-respect, to do so. She had to be helped down to the medics. The sand timer was turned, and her Clan Elders called for more recovery time to be given. They sat in a circle with the Lady Magistrate and discussed the matter, as the last sands were falling, the verdict was given, “No, there was no serious injury, and therefore no extra time will be permitted.”

Some cheered, some booed. Rangi groaned. No, neither of her injures were “serious”, but together they rendered her almost immobile. Just one more Agni Kai, and she could limp her way home and wait for her turn with the healer.

“Satoko of Clan Keohso challenges Rangi of Clan Sei’Naka for the honor of presenting her proposal contract to the Avatar.”

Rangi’s heart nearly stopped. Satoko was a renowned fighter. She’d risen through the ranks of the navy quickly by beating waterbending pirates on open seas. Any firebender who could accomplish that was not to be trifled with.

The gong sounded, and Rangi winced as she took a defensive stance. She had to accept this particular duel might just call for neutral jing. As much as she hated the concept, there was no way to outmaneuver Satoko, she would have to wait for the right moment to strike.

Satoko held up an open hand high above her head, an invitation to a truce talk between the two combatants. It was extremely rare, as usually people were ready to fight long before they issued a challenge to an Agni Kai. Rangi held up a hand in return and the Navy Captain closed the distance, “You have fought admirably, but you’re in no shape to fight this duel.”

“I will fight.” She had no choice, Kyoshi wasn’t some insult that she could endure, or meaningless piece of property that she could live without. She was her balancer, without the tall woman to keep her level, she would teeter off her foundations and become a broken, lifeless tool.

“Ha! I’m sure you will. But let me release you from the challenge.” She offered it as a way to let Rangi out of the Agni Kai without shame, but it would still be so humiliating. Worse, it would be a forfeit. She would lose her right to marry her love.

“No.”

“Listen to reason, Captain Rangi. I’ll be honest, I don’t want your lover.” Satoko’s knowledge was unsurprising, but the fact she’d said it so plainly was. A good number of Fire Nationals had a paramour, it was a side effect of arranged marriages. It was even an honor for lesser nobles to warm the bed of those of greater rank, and there was no greater rank than the Avatar. But it was never to be spoken of out loud. In her native land, she and Kyoshi were always given a single room and bed to share, but the host never had a comment about the sleeping arrangements. The closest their relationship had ever come to being vocalized was when a General drunkenly praised Kyoshi for keeping her guard with her at **_all_** times and gave her a wink, “I just need her title.”

“You and everyone else here.”

“Except you. I saw the way you looked at each other at the festival, you love her, and she loves you. If you let me release you, you may continue your relationship, and raise the little foundling as your own. All I ask is her hand in marriage, and for her to give me an heir from a man of my choosing.”

“I reject your offer.” Rangi raged, vowing to destroy her so messily that half the other challengers would run off back to their own islands in fear.

“Suit yourself. But I will not have you as my wife’s bodyguard.”

“You will not walk off this platform.”

Satoko returned to her side. Both women raised a hand and lowered it back to their sides. The truce talk was a failure. The gong struck a second time. Now the challenger came out in full force. Rangi held her position, blocking with earthbending techniques and redirecting with waterbending techniques. She stumbled, having to dodge, but turned it into a roll and threw a fire punch as she came out of it. Satoko’s reputation did not do her justice, she was a force of nature. Her days at sea gave her a lot of experience against other forms of bending, Rangi’s inclusion of them was making no difference.

The slightly shorter woman had the bodyguard backed to the very edge of the platform. If she wanted to win, she needed a surprise, something that was unknown in any form of bending. Jet stepping was going to hurt, but for Kyoshi, Rangi would push through the pain. She breathed dragon’s breath and threw two punches at the same time to get Satoko to give her the time she needed.

Flames came out of her feet, raising her up as she stepped on her fire. The crowd gasped in surprise in the unseen method. Satoko shot two flames up, a straightforward punch and a hook shot. Rangi took one flame to the back of the thigh and another to the lower back. The silence from the onlookers was deafening as she hit the ground with a loud thud. After a moment of shock, the gong attendant remembered he still had a job to do and hit the metal disc.

“Satoko of Clan Keohso has defeated Rangi of Clan Sei’Naka in an honorable Agni Kai and has won the right to present Rangi’s proposal contract to the Avatar.” The Lady Magistrate announced. Rangi lost.

“You should have accepted my offer.” Satoko said without empathy, “Now it is too late.” She went to help the loser get to the medics, but Rangi used what strength she could muster to push her away. In shame, she used her arms to crawl towards the stairs, and tumbled down them.

Her vision blurred as a hooded person wearing the Sei’Naka symbol helped her to her feet and bore her weight. Tears fell freely down Rangi’s face as the stranger helped her out of the arena, the realization was starting to hit her. After all they’d been through, she and Kyoshi could never be married.

It was a long and painful walk to Rangi’s estate, she tripped over rocks in the road that she couldn’t see for the tears. Her legs, hip and back would send shooting pains through her, knocking her down. The cloaked person would pick her up, and they’d start all over again.

“Welcome to my bathhouse, if you’re not actively dying, get in line.” Atuat addressed the two newcomers without looking up from her critical patient. The challenger’s medics held the stranger, taking Rangi and lowering her into the waters in gently. The liquid stung more than the fire had, making the firebender bite her tongue to keep from screaming.

Surprisingly, the cloaked figure followed her into the baths and carefully pulled her close, guiding Rangi’s head to their shoulder, only then did Rangi realize the hooded figure was her mother. She started sobbing again as Hei-Ran stroked her hair. There were no lectures on her failure. There were no assurances that everything was going to be alright, because it wasn’t. She just held her as tightly as she dared and let Rangi release all her anguish in front of everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said this would be three chapters, but I'm a masochist and I must enjoy drama more than I think I do. 
> 
> The original plan was to go through the proposal, comically. Kyoshi (unfamiliar with Fire Nation proposal ceremonies) would assume Hei-Ran was selling Rangi to her like a prized cow and burn the contract. Much to Rangi's immediate heartbreak (as that is a horrible refusal) before she realized Kyoshi was just being her oafish self.


	4. Bedtime Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bedtime stories have to come from somewhere.

It’d been nearly two weeks, more specifically twelve days, since Rangi lost the Agni Kai with Satoko, and she still hadn’t sent a hawk to Jinpa, giving him the order to bring the team back. She just couldn’t bear to face Kyoshi right now. Everything she’d done, the insult and pain she caused her lover, it was all for nothing. When she saw her tall girl, she would have to explain, and now there wasn’t even a justification for her behavior.

_‘I failed’_. That is what she would have to say. _‘I hurt you because I thought I could handle it and I couldn’t trust you not to be impulsive’._ Like she had proved to be so effective against their problems. Jianzhu got the drop on her, Lek died. Yun, she’d even known what he was doing, and he still got to her, and Kyoshi had to take him out. Then, all this time she’d been playing around, calling Kyoshi her oaf...Kyoshi had apparently been taking her words to heart. And with her latest mistake, she’d failed to secure her place in her lover’s life. After all that happened, she wasn’t sure that she even deserved the spot at her side.

Rangi hadn’t said a single word to anyone, she had barely eaten, and she was under near constant supervision thanks to her mother. All sharp objects had been removed from her bedroom, least Rangi decide to shave her head around the topknot in shame; Hei-Ran would not allow her daughter to disgrace herself so unnecessarily. There was no need to worry, though, she would not shave until Kyoshi was there to bear witness to her shame and guilt. 

Rangi wanted Kyoshi so much, she was the only one she could be weak around without losing her own self-respect; the only one she knew wouldn’t think any less of her for needing comfort. She could spend the whole night crying over the stupidest thing, and the next day the Avatar would still call her a strong hero for taking care of a tiny fleaspider. She would scoff and act like it was no big deal, but she beamed with pride because she loved to be strong in her lover’s eyes. 

But whenever she thought of her lover, all she could remember is the look of fury. Kyoshi saw her as an elitist ass, and Rangi couldn’t argue. She couldn’t even look her in the eyes, how could she ask her to come back; to hold her in her strong arms and promise to stay close even when the world was falling apart?

How did she convince Kyoshi that she really didn’t think that she was stupid? Oh, she had her oafish moments, but those were kind of cute. Rangi would never forget the look on Kyoshi’s face after she stole their first kiss; eyes closed, and face scrunched up like she was at a scary play and the murderer just appeared behind the next victim. Kyoshi’s blunders were adorable, just adding to her charm.

Most of her bigger missteps were the result of being uninformed, or from being too eager to help. She hadn’t grown up in the higher circles of society. Looking back, Rangi shouldn’t have been so quick to judge, or give up on her. Instead of putting her down, she could have raised her up and helped her to understand. The hard life Kyoshi been given left her with little concern for the dance of formalities that all the nations’ nobles did, and little patience to deal with the pointless bureaucracy. Rangi could respect that. Sometimes she even wished she could be so forward and cross. Maybe if she’d bothered to tell her love that, she wouldn’t feel so stupid.

Her mistakes weighed so heavily on her that it was a chore to rise before the sun now, which was a crime in her military childhood. Somedays she didn’t even manage to get up before the bright light of morning hit her eyes. This was one of those days. Her room was getting brighter by the minute, but she just couldn’t gather the energy to get up. She didn’t even bother to raise her head when the servant came in with breakfast.

They set a tray of food on the desk near her bed, like every other morning. They would no doubt tell her that her mother was waiting to take a walk with her, just as they had been for the last twelve days. She closed her eyes in hopes that they would just leave without any pleasantries. There was a brief moment of silence and relief, then she felt a dip in the bed. Rangi’s eyes popped open, ready to shout at the improperness.

“I will not say that it’s a good morning, Rangi.” Hei-Ran came in person today, she’d given her daughter enough time and space to wallow, it was time to rejoin society. The world didn’t stop for failures, not even massive, life-changing ones. Rangi was still in no mood to speak, or do anything, but that was okay. If she wasn’t talking, she had time to listen, “I wish your father was here, he would know what to say.”

Rangi didn’t need a reminder of who else wasn’t here with her.

“Unfortunately, we’ll both have to make do. For what little it’s worth, Rangi, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I always drove you to be perfect. I’m sorry I taught you such a deep admiration of tradition. I’m sorry I never taught you that even the best fail; that you can do everything right and still lose.”

Still no response.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t a compassionate mother; I spent our time together making sure you would be an exemplary soldier instead of making sure that I was an exemplary parent. If I had done my job correctly, you would feel comfortable talking to me about this. Instead, you’ve decided to wallow in your self-pity.”

Rangi sighed. That was the biggest reaction anyone had gotten from her since the day she lost. It was truly unfortunate that it was not a productive response, but the former headmistress had no one to blame for that except herself. 

Hei-Ran sighed as well, “I’m sorry, that is the perfect example of what I was talking about. I’m not here to criticize you. I just want to help you if I can.”

“You can’t. I’ve ruined everything.”

“Do you think Kyoshi could somehow love you more if you were married?” 

“No. I insulted her. She tried to help, she swore not to do anything impulsive, and I made her feel stupid. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t correct myself without telling her everything. And instead of trusting her, I... she stormed off, and I let her. If I’d been able to beat my challengers, I could’ve had something to show for it. I could’ve fixed everything.”

“Showing off your strength wouldn’t make Kyoshi suddenly forget what you did.”

“I could show her the contract, show her that the pain I caused was worth it.” She would explain that she hadn’t meant a word she’d said, she was just trying to keep her love in the dark so they could do this right. She had no way to know that she’d fight two idiots who were so focused on giving her a wound that they lost the duel; then duel a distinguished fighter who took advantage of the injuries that the other two inflicted.

“Yes, who wouldn’t love to marry a person who called them a simpleton?” Hei-Ran asked dryly.

“I never called her that.”

Hei-Ran took a second to focus herself. She was falling back into her habit of criticism. Rangi didn’t need a commanding officer right now, she needed a mother, “Even if you had won, you couldn’t take back whatever you said with a proposal. You need to face her, explain and apologize. And most importantly, you need to stop doing whatever it is you did. Hiding here is just giving the wound you inflicted more time to fester.”

“I can’t face her.”

“This isn’t the time for cowardice. Satoko is nearly through all of her challengers. If she wins the next three days, she will propose to Kyoshi before the poor girl even knows what’s going on.” The Naval Captain had not only won Rangi’s contract, but Rangi’s rivals as well. The remaining suitors of Keohso, a total of thirty-two, had rescinded their challenge. What rivals Satoko lost from her own clan were replaced and even outmatched by the Sei’naka. There were thirty-six people in their ranks who had refused to oppose one of their own, but with a Keohso woman in possession of the contract, they could issue a challenge without personal conflict. 

“What?! How?” The last report she’d been given, Satoko was facing one hundred and forty-eight challenges. She should still have twelve full days’ worth of Agni Kai’s, with a few lose ends on the thirteenth if no one else issued a challenge.

“She has brokered truces with many of her rivals.” Hei-Ran should have advised Rangi to do that. It wasn’t the traditional way to handle things, it was considered an unsporting method, but it wouldn’t leave a black mark on her record, “We should have done the same.”

Rangi couldn’t believe Hei-Ran suggested such a thing. Satoko’s honor might still be intact, but her reputation would suffer, and it would follow her for the rest of her life. She bought her way out of a problem, and that wasn’t the Fire Nation’s way; that was something you’d expect from an Earth Kingdom noble, “I still have my pride.”

“And what good has your pride done, except to push the woman you love away and lose you the right to ask for her hand?”

Rangi didn’t have an answer for that; what her mother said was true. Her own damn pride gave her the overconfidence to know that she could win three hundred and one Agni Kai’s, and Kyoshi would just get in the way. But if she could go back, she still wouldn’t bribe anyone into quitting, “I should have asked for Kyoshi’s help.”. Surely if they, and their companions, put their heads together they could come up with a plan to use Kyoshi’s power without raising tensions.

“So ask for it now.”

Rangi sniffled, but finally got out of bed. She moved the breakfast tray aside, took a brush in her hand and simply wrote “Come back”. She gave the note to her mother’s outstretched hand. She would send the hawk to Jinpa.

“Now, eat all of your breakfast and go take a bath. You really stink.”

“I know, Mother.” She huffed as if her mother were being overly rude and not stating a simple fact.

Breakfast was eaten, not with the usual sense of purpose, but her stomach was full for the first time since Satoko had bested her. It tasted wonderful, she knew, but her senses were still dull to it. She still felt like a lifeless lump of flesh. Rangi would have to hope that a bath would be more successful in making her feel like an actual person again.

Hei-Ran had the servants prepare the bathhouse while she was eating. Steam was rising from the water, carrying a relaxing scent through the air. She undressed and eased down into the baths, breathing in several deep breaths. It was hard not to get lost in her thoughts as she mindlessly cleaned herself for the first time in -did she even clean herself aside from Atuat’s healing? Maybe, once? What a disgraceful way to carry on. Maybe the steam was clearing the cobwebs out of her empty head.

With more deep breathing, it got easier to focus on her failure without crying. She needed to look at every mistake she made so she could give Kyoshi the complete story, starting with her proudly accepting the challenges instead of calling for a tournament on grounds of unfair odds; because she had to prove her love for Kyoshi to the world by fighting **_everybody_**. Then she had to push her partner away from their problems because she refused to trust her and wanted to take care of it like the strong hero she wanted to be. Then instead of recognizing that her guilt was holding her down like chains, she just had to push through the pain when she should have pleaded for Kyoshi to come back so she could get to her knees and beg forgiveness.

She’d let Koulin and Satoko fuel her pride and anger; she started feeling the need to protect Kyoshi from them. She’d let herself be motivated to push herself past her limits. She’d won two battles to lose the war. And worse, she knew better. It wasn’t like she was some new recruit who thought that all she needed to secure a victory was a righteous cause and an honorable heart. She wasn’t the hero in a child’s bedtime story for spirit’s sake. 

Rangi fire punched the water in her frustration, frightening the bath attendant. The mistress of the house muttered an apology to her employee, but still continued to sulk. Satoko had really known how to play her, hadn’t she? Offering to let her be Kyoshi’s paramour, the other Captain had to know that would fray her last thread. If Rangi hadn’t been immobile, she might have accidently killed the rival in her fury. In the end, it might be a good thing she had been wounded; she didn’t know if she could handle bearing the same reputation as her mother. Of course Satoko got what she wanted, so it worked out for her as well. _Perhaps_ , Rangi thought as she went over the previous fights again with a clearer mind, _it worked out a little too well_.

“Azami.” She addressed her attendant as she began putting the dissected pieces of a map together in her head, “I know this isn’t your job, and I apologize, but I need you to run an errand for me.”

“Of course, Mistress.” Azami bowed low. She was a fairly recent addition to the staff, comparatively; a replacement for one of the servants who refused to assist an honorless skunkdog no matter how high the pay. Azami had a family to feed, and when people commented on her work, she told them the truth; she served Captain Rangi. Good servants did what they were told and if she was told to aid Hei-ran as she would her mistress, then that is what Azami would do.

Captain Rangi was a strange one, she actually treated her employees like people instead of beasts who would heel on command. Rumor among the staff was that Avatar Kyoshi was the main cause of the strange behavior. The rumor was Kyoshi used to be a servant herself, so she treated help as she’d wanted to be treated. What nonsense; a servant Avatar! But she couldn’t help but wonder if there was a seed of truth in the myth, as Kyoshi was even more considerate than the Captain. Maybe she’d been born to parents that worked for a Lord or something.

“The two people I fought, Bunko and Kisho, I want you to find out if they’ve entered into any arrangements with Satoko or the Keohso Clan.” It was possible that they didn’t, but the more she went back over the fights, the more it made sense.

“Yes, Mistress.” And with another bow, Azami was off to do her employer’s bidding.

It wasn’t long before the door to the bathhouse slid open; far too soon to be Azami back from her assignment. Rangi reflexively prepared for a fight. “Good girl.” Her mother said with a sagely nod of her head. Preparedness always carried the day, and no assassin was too proud to attack their target in the baths.

“Mother.” She sat back down in the waters, “Was there something you needed?”

“You asked if your rivals made deals with the Keosho Clan. I saved Azami a trip.” Hei-Ran held up a few papers, “These letters were written to me by an old friend, who shall remain nameless.” She pulled up a little bench to the water’s edge beside her daughter, “Bunko and Kisho’s parents have signed contracts for marriage to Amaterasu and Saburo of the Keohso Clan.”

“They and their families are much wealthier for it, I’ll bet.” That was all the proof Rangi needed. It would never hold up to an inquiry, not even from her own clan elders. As much as it would benefit the Sei’naka to issue an Agni Kai challenge to Satoko on Rangi’s behalf, it simply wasn’t enough. They couldn’t prove that the two were only trying to damage her for Satoko’s match, this was only circumstantial evidence. No matter how much it would advance her Clan to have the Avatar in their ranks, they couldn’t challenge without sufficient proof.

“Yes. It turns out that Satoko had been moved up a slot when Ryo retracted his challenge suddenly.”

“How unsurprising.” If Satoko had been just one slot behind, their duel would have been the first of a brand-new day; Atuat could have tended to the wounds before the match. That would have taken the wood out of Satoko’s firepit. “From now on, I will be looking for an excuse to challenge her to an Agni Kai. I will face her on fair conditions and show her how a real Fire National wins a duel.”

“Let it go, Rangi.” Hei-Ran dismissed her. Rangi’s neck nearly snapped as she looked up at her mother, “Soon she will have a far more humiliating defeat than what even you could give her.” A puff of air came from the former matriarch, like she was trying to keep something from escaping, “We can only hope you are present to see that dumbfounded look on her smug face when she finds out that she’s wasted nearly all of her family’s assets, and two prominent family marriages, for a woman who can and will tell her to jump into a boiling lake.”

An image popped into Rangi’s mind. The satisfied smirk of a successful business deal turning sour when she found that neither Kyoshi, nor any elder of Kyoshi, had signed the contract. The realization settling into her chest when she realized the Avatar was under no obligation to go through with any wedding. The utter shock of a thief who thought they’d pulled off the perfect heist, only to find out the jewels were but glass ornaments.

Air started to escape her lips. She tried to cover her mouth, but there was no way to keep it contained. She laughed hysterically. Her mother lost her composer soon after. A servant passing by was startled by the noise. The family he worked for was mad as an iguanadeer on fermented fruit.

* * *

“I’m gonna tell!” Jinpa’s voice picked up even over the wind as he flew away from the Avatar on his glider. He had an ongoing mission, and Kyoshi would do anything to stop him from completing it. His only option was to hand the reigns over to Wong and jump off the bison and beat the animal to their destination. 

“You second-rate flunky!” Kyoshi called after him, pausing only to make sure Koko stayed with Kirima, despite all her protests, and then jumping down off with her own glider. All she had to do was shoot him down before he could give his full report to Rangi.

They raced the last few miles. Using air currents, they maneuvered left and right, trying to blow each other off course to gain a few precious seconds. As Rangi’s mansion came into sight, Kyoshi’s heart sunk; Jinpa was in the lead. Oh, there was a way to win, but her lover would not approve. Even if she won, she’d be doing horse stance for the rest of her life. That is **_if_** Rangi found out. She grinned and entered the Avatar State with her most selfish reason to date. She used the power for nothing more than a quick boost before closing the glider and rocketing down to earth.

The Avatar ran out of the small crater she’d created and to her girlfriend, “Rangi, I can explain! OOfhph!” Her flame had never even given her the chance, she’d ran straight into Kyoshi, jumping and latching her arms around the tall woman’s neck. On instinct, her long arms wrapped around the firebender’s back to hold her steadily in place.

“I’m sorry.” Rangi whispered, burrowing her head into her lover’s neck. Kyoshi could feel hot tears against her skin. Somewhere in the background, a monk landed and took note of the mood. In light of what had clearly been a devastating defeat, Jinpa decided that Kyoshi had suffered enough, and forgot his rather impressive list of grievances. 

“I’m sorry, too.”

“No.” Rangi barked, pulling back enough to look Kyoshi in the eyes without leaving her arms and cupping her cheeks, “Don’t apologize. You were right, and I was wrong. I screwed everything up and we might have had a chance if I just trusted you. I’m so sorry, Kyoshi. ”

“What happened?”

“It’s a long story. Let’s go sit down, okay?”

“Oh, sure.” Kyoshi felt her innards twist. Whatever happened, it was serious.

“Visitors approaching!” The gate guards called, Rangi seemed to know who was coming. Hei-Ran came running into the courtyard with Atuat in tow. Kyoshi’s skin was getting goosebumps. It was like hearing something in the dark, but not seeing where or what it was. 

“Flameo!” The Fire Captain cursed, looking up at her with regretful eyes, “She shouldn’t be finished yet. Look, Kyoshi, I lost an Agni Kai. Now a woman named-“

“Captain Satoko of Clan Keohso, Great Avatar.” A smug and feminine voice came from inside a palanquin. The poor servants who carried the covered litter breathed heavily like they’d ran the whole way. She gave them a gentle, cool wind; a small mercy, but it was all she could do for them at the moment.

The woman Rangi tried to warn her about was tall and of strong build. She had the appearance of the sea fairing people to her, making her look exotic in her own nation. She stepped out of the man-powered vehicle and then helped a much older woman of some resemblance do the same. “Thank you, Captain Rangi,” She said with a wave of her hand and a reprimanding gaze, “but I will continue this conversation. As is my right.”

She followed up by giving one last tug to her fancy shirt to straighten it. Kyoshi would bet there was a third person hiding in the palanquin, a servant, whose job was making the noble woman look presentable on the way to this meeting. She once did the same for Yun. He had been charming the farmer’s daughter on a rest stop to their destination and she had to race, hunched over in a space she didn’t fit in, to make him look like he’d just come from a meditation -not a make out- session. What sweaty pursuits had this woman just left, amusement or combat? A small, new burn on her hand on her first knuckle suggested an Agni Kai.

Kyoshi felt the heat coming off Rangi as the lordly woman lowered her eyes and fell in step behind her mistress in the traditional bodyguard position, submitting without a word. As mighty as the Avatar was, she was not too proud to admit that the action had not only put her on edge, it was really scaring her.

“Avatar Kyoshi.” An elderly woman bowed as low as her bones would let her, Satoko put a steadying hand on her shoulders, “I am Chika. I have been chosen to represent the elders of Clan Keohso in this matter.”

“What matter is that?” She spoke with authority, not wanting these strangers to hear her fear and gain the upper hand so quickly.

“Satoko has won your bodyguard’s-“ there was an undertone of ‘current bodyguard’ from the Captain. Kyoshi was already certain that she hated this woman, “proposal contract.”

“Her what?!” And whatever dignified and threatening impression Kyoshi may have given off just flew right out the window. She was caught off guard, bug-eyed and furious and speaking in a much higher pitch than normal. Rangi had a proposal contract, and she never said anything?!

That explained everything! Rangi’s personal business was her marriage. She sent Kyoshi away because she feared Kyoshi would cause a war to keep her lover by her side. It wasn’t an unfair assumption now that she knew all the facts. If these people thought that they were taking Rangi away from her, they had a big surprise coming. If she had to face them both in an Agni Kai, so be it. “Hei-Ran, how could you let this happen!”

To her credit, Hei-Ran ignored the ground shaking underneath her as it reacted to its mistress’ barely controlled fury. The woman normally wouldn’t have a voice in the presence of an elder, but an Avatar’s summons outranked an elder’s sense of propriety, “I have no honor; no say in any matters unless given written permission from Rangi to act in her name, and even then, only in certain situations.”

“Then who is responsible for this?” The ground began to get little fleaspider web cracks underneath her. She was going to make them rue the day they got involved in Rangi’s love life.

“Avatar Kyoshi, please, we can all be civilized.” Chika pleaded gently, “This is how things are done in the Fire Nation. The Keohso Clan is very prominent in our land, we can provide a much better match. But the contract is rather short. The Sei’naka Clan may not care about the fine details, but we do.” She gazed at the unopened scroll that she held in her hand unpleasantly. Kyoshi understood why, the rough drafts of marriage proposals that had been sent for her approval were usually several scrolls long. Even Kyoshi didn’t need to break the seal to know that there was no way all the conditions were covered inside. “We will honor this draft if we must, but we would like to renegotiate the terms.”

“So not only do you come here to take Rangi away from me, but you also want me to negotiate the terms?!”

The sound of hand hitting flesh sounded through the air. Hei-Ran had facepalmed. Kyoshi was instantly aware that she’d just put her foot in her mouth, but she was still not quite sure how. Rangi was no help, her eyes were closed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. The visitors where staring at her with puzzled faces. Atuat was eating fruit and watching the drama unfold with no interest in participating; that left Jinpa.

“If I may, Avatar?” he asked to talk gently, not sure if he was permitted to speak without being spoken to, but somebody had to say it. She gave him the go-ahead with a frustrated wave, “Rangi deceived you about the reason for our trip here a few weeks ago. She had been planning to propose.”

The monk was sure he could hear Kyoshi’s brain break as she started putting the pieces together. The shock left her mute, so Jinpa continued,

“But many people challenged her for the right to present the contract to you, so she’s been fighting them off while we were away. It appears Captain Satoko has won their Agni Kai, effectively barring Rangi from marrying you.”

Now later, this would make more sense because Hei-Ran had told Kyoshi that the first Agni Kai was over her, but still somehow none of her business. She would groan at her outburst, angry that no matter how old she got, she could not seem to grow out of her oafish behavior. Right now, there was just unbridled rage.

Everyone took a few steps back and brought up their hands to protect themselves as Kyoshi’s eyes glowed an otherworldly white color. The energy around her flowed and swirled, making a tornado of air, dirt and fire that lifted the tall woman above the onlookers’ heads.

A voice that sounded like a legion speaking together came out of the Avatar’s mouth, “I love Rangi, there is no force in the world strong enough to take me from her. You will burn that contract and leave us alone.” Suddenly, the glow faded. The winds ceased. Kyoshi was back on the ground, her attention elsewhere.

Koko was crying. The others had finally made it to the mansion, and the Avatar State was terrifying to a young child. Kyoshi had never needed to call on her past lives, or had been so angry that they invited themselves, in front of her ward. The girl probably thought a league of evil spirits had taken control of her mother.

She shot over to the bison, Rangi hot on her heals. ZhenZhen barely had time to land before they were up in the saddle to comfort their scared daughter. Koko quickly latched onto her warm mother, not sure about Kyoshi at the moment. Her lips quivered as the firebender tried to assure the little one that Kyoshi was not going to hurt her. The Avatar was not doing the best job of holding back her tears, seeing Koko be so terrified of her. 

Everyone on the ground stood in an uncomfortable silence as they watched Kyoshi reach out to put a hand on Koko’s back only to have her shriek away. Hei-Ran’s heart broke, but she took comfort in the fact that children were so strong. Soon, after she released all her fear, Koko would calm down enough for her parents to explain what she saw. Then it would only be a matter of time before the child was demanding to ride on Kyoshi’s shoulders again.

“Avatar Kyoshi! We really must discuss this!” Chika was the one who finally broke the silence. She would not defy the Avatar, oh no, but she would like the chance to talk things over. Surely some sort of arrangement could be made that would benefit everyone.

Kyoshi was frustrated and heartbroken and in no mood to talk, “Hei-Ran, deal with them!” she yelled, not even turning her eyes in their direction.

“Please leave my daughter’s land.” Hei-Ran, now having authority again for the first time in years, said with an uncompromising tone.

“But we have a legal right to be here.”

“No you do not. Did you not hear Brother Jinpa? Rangi brought Avatar Kyoshi to our island under false pretenses; the proposal was a surprise. Your great-granddaughter didn’t win Rangi’s place in the Avatar’s marriage, she just won the right to propose.

Atuat cackled, throwing her head back as she did. The two women heard her but paid her no heed. They stared down Hei-Ran, looking for any sign of tricks. They couldn’t trust an honorless woman to tell the truth. But the former headmistress met their gaze, not showing any lie or exaggeration.

No. That was impossible. Highborn people simply did not surprise their intended with a proposal. The terms for the marriage needed to be negotiated on, they had to cover dowry, land transfers, housing, inheritance conditions; every financial detail had to be put in writing and signed on.

“Liar!” Satoko snapped, snatching the contract from her great-grandmother, and breaking the seal. She didn’t need to read the terms, she just needed to know who signed the document. Her eyes settled at the bottom of the contract where two signatures were placed. One she knew to be a Sei’naka elder. The other was Hei-Ran, with Rangi’s approval no doubt. There was no signature for the Avatar.

Hei-Ran suppressed a smirk as the once arrogant Captain roared and burned the document to ash, “Now that we have settled this matter, I suggest you obey the Avatar’s other command. Go away and leave my girls alone. I’m sure you’ll want to cancel whatever deals you still can.”

The two didn’t leave gracefully, spitting at Hei-Ran’s feet and calling her daughter a whore. She didn’t reply. Let them say what they want, in the end Rangi still had Kyoshi, and they still had Koko. If they were happy with their family, then what a few slighted nobles called them didn’t matter.

“You three,” She met the eyes of Kirima, Wong and Jinpa, “come with me.” The little family on the bison paid them no mind, still trying to convince Koko that Kyoshi was not a monster. Awhile later, Hei-Ran saw Koko in the avatar’s arms, riding on a little tornado. She put the little girl down, she was so dizzy that she walked in a zigzag before hitting the ground giggling. When Rangi picked her up and dusted her off, she demanded to do it again.

* * *

“I can’t believe it took her so long to fall asleep.” Kyoshi whispered as they climbed into bed. She sat against the headboard and breathed in a deep sigh. Sometimes, even with Kyoshi’s lullabies and Rangi’s warm cuddles, Koko down right refused to fall asleep; especially when she got the feeling that important things were happening. Not unlike tonight, when the two were anxious for the child to snooze so they could talk.

“How does she have so much energy?” The exhaustion on Rangi’s face showed even in the dim candlelight. She made use of Kyoshi, putting a knee on each side of the long thighs, and sitting on her lap. They both knew they wouldn’t sleep until they had a long discussion, even if the firebender wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall unconscious.

“I think she’s part cheetah squirrel.” Long fingers laced into Rangi’s black hair and began to massage her scalp, relaxing her as if staying awake wasn’t hard enough already. She fought the urge to close her eyes and purr. If she let her eyelids down for just one second, she’d be asleep before she knew it.

“I should explain.” She said more to herself than Kyoshi, a reminder not to give into the horrible temptation of a good night’s sleep.

“Yeah, you really should.”

Rangi grabbed Kyoshi’s hands gently and pulled them away from her hair, bringing them down and holding them in her lap, “I never meant to make you feel stupid.”

“But you do.”

“I’m sorry. I know. I won’t call you names anymore.”

“Damn it, Rangi, how can _you_ be so dense?” Kyoshi huffed, “It’s not the names!” she said with a hushed yell, “I know you’re just teasing; I really don’t mind them. You only make me feel stupid when you do things like this, when you say I’m incapable of helping and push me away; or when you don’t trust me with information like I’m some child that you need to shield from the world.”

“It’s my job to protect you.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! Right there. You always say that, but what if I need to protect you sometimes? I love you and I should have the right to share your burdens, and you shouldn’t get to tell me ‘no’.”

“I was going to say that.” Rangi would normally be very irritable about being interrupted, but this time she would let it pass. Her lover had a right to be frustrated, and she could handle a little rage after the mess she’d made.

“What?” Kyoshi wasn’t expecting her stubborn woman to agree so easily or agree at all.

“Not in those words, but yes. I should include you. You put your foot in your mouth earlier because I kept you in the dark. If you looked stupid, it was my fault. I just, I’m too protective, I guess. I keep trying so hard to be your strong hero that I forget you’re the one who’s actually out there saving the world.”

When Kyoshi opened her mouth to speak, Rangi put a finger to her lips. She had to get this out.

“I think you’re intelligent, Kyoshi, just not politically shrewd. Most of the time, that’s a good thing. Jianzhu was politically wise. So was Takaga, and Lu Beifong, and Yun. And look what kind of people they became. The world needs someone like you, who tells the people in charge exactly what the common people are thinking. I love that you don’t fall in line, and you don’t bother with political formalities.” A younger Rangi may not have agreed, but she wasn’t a kid anymore. Ideals of honorable leaders and a sense of order had been skewed over the years by seeing the masses suffer under the thumb of their superiors.

She shushed Kyoshi gently as she wiped some tears away before they fell down the tanned cheeks.

“I forgot that. I just wanted to do things the proper way; just once in our lives, I wanted to do something the way tradition demands. I let that sentiment and my pride make excuses for me. I will never let this happen again.”

Kyoshi pulled her close and they both cried as they clung to each other for comfort. They would speak more of this in a few minutes, but right now there were a lot of emotions to let out. Rangi promised to do better over and over again and swore her everlasting love.

“So you want to marry me, huh?” Kyoshi finally managed to break through her tears with a smile, she was going to tease Rangi about this for the rest of their lives.

“Yes, I want to marry you.” Rangi kissed her oaf’s knuckles, “I wanted the three of us to be a real family.”

“We don’t need a ceremony to be a family, Rangi. I’m yours, and you’re mine. And Koko is ours. I don’t need anyone to give a speech to make it more true.”

“It’s more than that. We can’t be a family in public. I want to hold your hand where everyone can see, and let you touch my hair, and not have to sneak into your room like we’re doing something wrong. I want to be able to say, _‘this is our daughter, Koko’_ , and give her a sash with my clan insignia on it.”

Well, when she put it like that... “What if I propose to you?”

“The lower ranking person proposes. There is literally no one in the Fire Nation that you could present a contract to.”

“But why can’t a higher up propose, anyway?”

“Because the higher rank has the final say with the contract. The lesser offers themselves up, and the greater accepts or rejects them. You don’t give up your power to someone weaker than yourself.”

That sounded much more convoluted than it needed to be, just one more thing for Kyoshi to add to her ever-growing list about irksome Fire Nation Customs. She would keep it to herself, Rangi’s culture was important to her, and she wasn’t going to break her down for it, “I can’t help but notice you enjoy when I give up my power to you.” She said with a dumb grin that covered half her face.

Even the soft lighting couldn’t hide Rangi’s blush. She smacked Kyoshi’s shoulder in retaliation. The big woman gasped dramatically, falling over on the bed, and taking her flame down with her. She held the woman close as she squirmed with half-hearted effort until she just laid still.

“Just so you know.” Kyoshi said after airbending the flames off the candle wicks, “I’ll sneak into your room for the rest of my life.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

* * *

** Day 9140 in the Era of Kyoshi **

**Humbling Day/ Earth Kingdom Holiday**

Humbling Day: a day when servants and masters traded places. In her youth, Kyoshi hated it. Yun would shove her in his chair in the formal dining hall, and she would do her best to ignore the disapproving looks from her coworkers who felt she once again used her friendship with the Avatar for selfish gain. In reality, she was a nervous wreck all day; Yun was not a good servant. She knew the wood was not cut, the errands weren’t run, there was a mess building up in the kitchen where he made the drinks she didn’t ask for. Kyoshi spent every second trying to sneak in a bit of cleaning when her Lord Servant wasn’t looking.

If there was one person who loathed it more than Kyoshi, it was Rangi. More guards would be brought in from nations that didn’t celebrate the holiday to give her the day off. When Yun wasn’t driving up Kyoshi’s anxieties, he was standing behind Rangi, mimicking her attention pose. The poor child had never even considered such a violation in duties as to let her charge guard her! The girls would bond over waiting for the day to end.

Nowadays, Kyoshi loved the holiday. It was a chance for her to go back to simpler times, where her biggest setback was an overactive boy making an unusually big mess for her to clean. Rangi refused to let Kyoshi stand watch over her. If she was going to observe the odd holiday, then she would do so as the Avatar’s Sifu; a Master who would have to take a servant’s role for the day.

There weren’t as many masters now as the old days. Mostly it was just the two of them. They learned after the first year to start early and have as many chores done the day before as they could get away with. The meals were not the extravagant ones the master’s used to make, but the servants weren’t fancy like before, either. These were just commoners, down on their luck and needing a job for an honest living. They were happy with a paid day off, and the Avatar making and serving meals.

This year, her secretary was having way too much fun. He had a summoning bell installed right above Kyoshi’s head in her bedroom. It woke her up a full hour before she planned to crawl out of bed. She grumbled as she got on a robe and left to do his bidding like a good little servant. Rangi pulled herself up as well. She might as well get ahead on some of the chores before she got Koko up for the day.

Several things were done by the time they started to make breakfast. Koko was up and fed a snack to hold her over until they finished serving the meal to their masters. The girl helped her tall mother with the dumplings while Rangi got the pots boiling for rice.

“Mother!” Rangi couldn’t stop the fire punch, only move at the last second and hope she missed. Luckily, her mother was a magnificent bender, and simply batted the flame away. Of course there would be no need to block an attack if she’d just sent a note that she was visiting.

“You need to keep the heat steady while you’re cooking, or you will over cook the rice.” Hei-Ran monotoned the simple instruction, replacing Rangi’s flame with her own.

Forget the food, the Captain had bigger concerns, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see how you were doing.” Honesty, Hei-Ran was just glad Kyoshi managed to talk her daughter out of shaving the hair around her topknot; she’d lost an Agni Kai when the odds had been stacked impossibly against her. And she did this after winning one hundred and fifty-five consecutive duels. That was a record. People would be talking about it for years to come. The young woman had nothing to be ashamed of.

“I’m alright.” She said out of habit. A stern look from her mother made her add, “I’m still disgusted with myself, but I’m learning how to live with my mistakes.”

“I suppose that’s all I can hope for.” She nodded her approval, “Now get out.”

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t stutter. You are a bodyguard; this is your day to be served.”

“I’m the Avatar’s Sifu; it’s my day to serve.” She argued, losing her focus as Kirima and Wong entered the kitchen with ill-fitting aprons on. They never served, claiming that they were but humble servants of the Avatar, but only on this day when it benefited them. Every other day, they boasted about being the Avatar’s elders.

“We have enough help.”

“We?” So she was getting banished so her mother could take her spot? That wasn’t right.

“Do I not have people attending to me in the Fire Nation? I will be a servant today. You take a day to rest. We will handle this.”

“Raingy, save me!” Koko clung to her leg. She looked down to the girl and didn’t see something that made her feel confident enough to leave. The child was covered in flour. She looked around for the cause and found Kyoshi over by the dough, who stopped airbending and let a ball of flour fall back to the table.

“It wasn’t me. It was another airbender.” She said with a grin that would get her convicted in any court. Koko giggled at what she saw as a clever deception, breaking her act of a helpless victim.

“And you want me to leave these two with Kirima and Wong?” Really? Kyoshi was a good, hard worker, but when Koko was around, she made it a point to be a bit more fun-loving. She never passed on a chance to have fun with the girl when she could. She’d made that mistake with her father; she wasn’t going to repeat it with her daughter.

“I will keep them in line.” Hei-Ran sighed, “Do as you’re told, Young Lady.”

“Go on, Rangi.” Kyoshi called as Koko ran back over to help, “You need to rest, or you’ll lose effectiveness.”

Arguing would be pointless, with everyone against her Rangi knew she would be fighting them at every turn. There would be no way to get anything done. “Only if you swear not to stand guard behind me.”

“I give you my word as the Avatar, I will not guard you today.” She put her fists together and bowed with her pledge.

“Fine. Just this once.” She growled, still not happy with this arrangement.

“Just this once.” Kyoshi echoed, with a smile that said she knew something, “Mistress Rangi.”

“Will you need anything, Mistress Hairpin?” Kirima popped off as Rangi stormed out of the kitchen, she barely held in the urge to make an inappropriate gesture, and only because Koko and her mother were present.

The rest of the day was typical of the holiday. Kyoshi kept chasing Auntie Mui out of the kitchen as they prepared meals. Rangi sat with Jinpa, and soon she got in on the fun of making the Avatar run around like a headless hogchicken. While those two amused themselves at the tall woman’s expense, Koko learned how to pour drinks, rather improperly as the masters had to hold their cups down to her level, do dishes and helped with laundry. Wong and Kirima weren’t much help, at some points Kyoshi would rather have no help at all then to deal with the two daofei. Hei-Ran was the only really useful one, having done this a time or two in the past, and approaching it with the same expectation of perfection as she did everything else.

Kyoshi finally fell into bed and hugged her pillow instead of the fire-breathing traitor beside her. Rangi rolled her eyes, if it’d been up to her, she would’ve been helping Kyoshi all day. If she joined forces with Jinpa to make her life a hectic mess, her tall girl had no one to blame but herself.

The summoning bell rang. The Avatar groaned. The day may not be technically over yet, but it was close enough, damn it, “Why did he have to wait until I was almost asleep?” she grumbled, opening one eye, “He’s enjoying this way too much.”

“Maybe if you were nicer to him throughout the year, he wouldn’t enjoy torturing you so much today.”

“The snitch gets what he deserves.” The bell rang again. Kyoshi aggressively threw off the blankets and begrudgingly got dressed. The bell rang again. “Hold your ostrichhorses.” She said to the bell as if it would listen, “I’m going to get him back for this tomorrow.”

“You will not.”

The bell rang for a fourth time. Kyoshi ripped the offensive thing off the wall on her way out.

Rangi was almost asleep when she heard a knock at the window. She didn’t attack, it was done to the rhythm of ‘Sun Lullaby’; a signal Kyoshi and she used to notify the other to their presence without getting a fire blast to the face. She still was on high alert; why would her lover knock at their own window? A fist was at the ready just in case someone was trying to catch her off guard.

“Hey, Rangi.” It was Kyoshi. Her big oaf stood outside, holding a dragon-faced orchid in hand.

“Hey, Kyoshi.” The firebender leaned on her forearms against the windowsill, “What are you doing?”

“The Moon is so full.

Summer leaves dance in the wind.

They see secluded love.”

“Nice haiku.” Rangi grinned even if Kyoshi was teasing her for her past failures. She put her hand under Kyoshi’s chin, guiding her closer. The teased grin turned into a seductive smile and the Avatar prepared herself for a kiss. Her lips barely touched her girlfriend’s when the woman paused, “Did you find that one in the library?”

Kyoshi pouted, and Rangi giggled at her; the look she made when she realized she’d been had was adorable, “Actually, I got Kuruk to help me out.” The freckled woman admitted with a nervous smile.

“Tell me that wasn’t written for my mother.” She couldn’t stop a groan of dread. How embarrassing it’d been to find out that she’d thrown herself at a girl because of a love poem written to her mother. Perhaps more embarrassing was knowing that Hei-Ran and Yun both thought Kyoshi had seduced her by singing about her mother’s beauty.

“No!” she shouted in surprise and slight outrage. The shanty hadn’t even been her fault. That had to be Kuruk having fun or trying to get through to Kelsang; one day she would have to remember to ask. “Of course not.” She added more calmly, “We wrote that together, thank you.”

“Forgive me.” She pecked Kyoshi’s lips in an apology, and any transgression was instantly forgotten.

_“I’ve got a giggle like chiming bells / a smile that melts any heart / one look_

_from me and my slave you’ll be / with me you will never want to part.”_

“What are you up to?” Rangi blushed, even with only the light of a full moon, Kyoshi could tell. At first, she’d been unsure what type of poem she wanted to go with, a haiku or a shanty. She had Kuruk help her write one of each, and then decided on the haiku. But then Rangi just had to go and mention her mother’s shanty-poem, yet again. Well, Kyoshi would give her a different ditty to talk about for the rest of their lives.

_“My strength is a shelter in the storm / I keep you safe in the night / stay at_

_my side, there’s no need to hide/ I’ll keep you warm until dawn’s first light.”_

“Very funny. I don’t believe for a second that you’re making this up on the spot, by the way.” 

_“Anyone can see my affection / I love with all of my might / I’ll train_

_you well so you will not fail / and I will hug you ever so tight.”_

“Finished?”

“I’m sure we can think of more verses if you like. Enough to fill an entire library.”

“Please don’t.” she said, clearly embarrassed in the best possible way. Kyoshi snuck in a long, sweet kiss.

“What if I want to?”

“You have the wisdom of the ages, and you want to use it to create poetry.”

“Well only if it’s about you.”

“There’s a fine way to spend your time.” She said with blunt cynicism.

“Kuruk said that, too.” But she didn’t think he was being sarcastic.

“I don’t doubt it.” She rolled her eyes, “So are you going to keep reciting poetry, or would you like to come in?” The ridiculousness of Kyoshi sneaking into her own window was not lost on her, but if her love was attempting to recreate Rangi’s teenage blunder with better results, that was the next logical step.

“Tempting. But I thought we could go down to the stream for a while.” She offered the flower with a shy and hopeful gaze. It reminded her of when their relationship was new, and even though they’d already kissed many times, Kyoshi shook with nervousness when she asked her to their first official date.

There really wasn’t a way Rangi could say no to that face. She took the flower, pretending to consider the offer while she inhaled the sweet scent. “I suppose I could come out for a little while.”. The flower was placed safely on the table before she dressed, redid her topknot, and met her other half outside.

“I should ask Auntie Mui to listen for Koko.” Rangi knew that there were a lot of people in the compound, but she wanted to make sure that someone knew they weren’t there in case the child needed someone. She knew the panic that would cause, for her to seek her parents’ protection from a nightmare only to find her mothers missing.

“I already did. We’re good to go.”

“You have this remarkably well planned.” And she was beginning to get suspicious. What was Kyoshi up to?

“It seems like we haven’t had a date in a lifetime.” Kyoshi kissed Rangi’s forehead, then grabbed her hand and gently pulled her to get her moving. They were quiet on the way to the stream, the firebender lighting the way with her free hand. Where they touched, Rangi could feel the struggle of the taller woman; she was fighting the impulse to fidget. Some things never changed.

There were torches set up this time. The bodyguard could make out the sounds of familiar quiet footsteps heading away. Their friends, and probably her mother, had been setting this up while Kyoshi was wooing her. The torches surrounded a blanket on the ground; to be specific, there was a priceless blanket given to Kyoshi by the Earth King himself on the ground. He would be horrified to find it laying so unceremoniously on the grass. A basket set at the edge of the blanket along with a jar of honey wine. Kyoshi had brought her here for a late-night picnic. They had admittedly come up with worse date night ideas.

She followed her giant’s example and toed off her slippers, leaving them by the blanket’s edge. But when Rangi went to sit, a large hand grabbed her just above the elbow to keep her on her feet. The Fire National could only stare as she tried to figure out why she couldn’t sit on a picnic blanket of all things. Her lover only gave her a signal to ‘stay’ before releasing her hold and going over to the basket.

A rolled-up parchment, closed with the Avatar’s wax seal, was retrieved from the little box. Rangi froze as Kyoshi stepped up to her. Her brain decided it didn’t need to work anymore. Her heart apparently didn’t think it needed to pump blood, either.

“Kyoshi, you can’t.” Was the most graceful way Rangi could explain the hard truth right now. She had explained this to her lover already, why did she have to torment them both?

“Why not? I’m the lowliest servant right now.” If only for another hour or so, Kyoshi’s title couldn’t stop her, “I can propose to any Fire National I want as long as they still have their topknot.”

“I- don’t think this counts?” She couldn’t be blamed for her less than compelling argument; she was still struck stupid by the surprise. To question whether a silly Earth Kingdom holiday could be used as a loophole to broker a Fire Nation marriage was far out of Rangi’s mental powers at the moment.

“I’m the Avatar, and I say it does. Anyone who disagrees is welcome to challenge me to an Agni Kai.” The few people who had high enough rank to even address her just might want to, but all they could win was Rangi’s hand in marriage. She wasn’t worth fighting the Avatar over.

Kyoshi bowed and presented her with a contract. Rangi’s hand shook violently as she took it. The lowly servant kneeled before her mistress; eyes cast down as she grabbed the basket and set it between them. The Fire Sifu fumbled with the seal and tried to get the tears out of her eyes so she could actually read the document.

Jinpa clearly worked as the scribe and made the first few conditions; the same as her clan had demanded with one addition _‘Upon signing this contract, Rangi agrees to instruct Avatar Kyoshi on dealing with issues by written degree’_. She choked, Jinpa was still sore about Kyoshi always feeling the need to take care of problems in person, no matter how small.

Kirima was next, clearly. She demanded that _‘Rangi will provide her wife’s sworn brothers and sisters with a cushy new home in the following places:’_ , they totaled fifteen houses in various places; they could otherwise be called ‘safe houses’ for their semi-active smuggling business. Rangi didn’t approve, but as long as they didn’t hurt people who couldn’t fight back, she’d do it.

Wong made it fairly easy, all Rangi had to do was never bear witness against any of her wife’s sworn brothers and sisters. She had to wonder what those two numbskulls were planning if they needed safe houses and silence. She also had to assume that her clan elders were not familiar with daofei traditions, because there was no way they would sign a contract where one of their members enabled criminals and the term ‘sworn brothers and sisters’ clearly meant criminals in the Earth Kingdom.

But they had. All the necessary signatures were accounted for already. Kirima signed as Kyoshi’s elder, Hei-Ran signed- noted as Kelsang’s representative-, her clan’s highest elder, and Hei-Ran once again on Rangi’s request.

Technically, her answer didn’t matter. The setup had been a shock, but surprise contracts weren’t presigned by both parties’ elders, just the elders of the one presenting. Rangi was engaged the moment Kyoshi bowed whether she wanted to be or not. She doubted her betrothed knew that...the realization hit her like a bolt of lightning; they were getting married! She let off so much heat that sweat appeared on Kyoshi’s forehead. Or maybe that was just nerves, it was taking the noble quite a long time to come to terms with the overwhelming situation, the Avatar might be getting a little worried.

After a moment of panic, when her mind went completely blank on what tradition expected of her, Rangi had to go over the whole process in her mind before she remembered what she was supposed to do. She gave the slightest bow, knelt in front of Kyoshi and the basket, opened the lid and took- a skewer of stocknose mushrooms? Well, that wasn’t a normal proposal food. She still ate, and by now they were both crying.

It felt good to be weeping of happiness for a change. Rangi pushed the basket, and the rest of the precious mushrooms aside so she could embrace her love with all of her might. Kyoshi’s hand moved up and down her back in a soothing motion while they got themselves under control. Declarations of love came from both sides.

Large hands made their way up to toy with Rangi’s hair; she was going to love being able to do that whenever she pleased. A thought crossed the raven-haired woman’s mind, she was going to have a hard time keeping Kyoshi’s hands off her now. Logic told her this would be a problem, that she needed to remind the Avatar there still was a certain level of decorum expected from married couples, but right now she couldn’t care less.

Right now, if Kyoshi wanted to take out her hairpin and release her topknot, that was just fine. If she wanted to put a hand around the back of Rangi’s neck and pull her in for a toe-curling kiss, she would find no reason to argue. When Kyoshi blew out the torches like candles and tenderly pushed Rangi down on the blanket, she had the captain’s full consent.

There were soft kisses, all filled with smiles as they held each other close as possible. In the spirit of the holiday, Rangi was held captive by Kyoshi for a change. Her heavy weight pinned the shorter woman to the ground. She had no complaints.

Clothes were discarded, eventually. Kyoshi’s shirt was open and left her exposed, that was enough for Rangi. As long as she could reach out and touch her lover, she could handle maneuvering around loose fabric. When she managed to avoid Kyoshi’s lips and kiss her chest, long fingers tightly gripped her hair. She might like that more than she’d ever admit. She was pretty sure her tall woman already knew.

Her favorite part of her betrothed, hands down, was her _gloriously_ long fingers. It was impossible to stay still when Kyoshi was attacking her with the lengthy digits. It was an all-consuming feeling; she could barely register the wonderful stinging on her neck that would be a love mark tomorrow. All was building up to a great flashpoint. Kyoshi jumped away as Rangi lost control and shot out a breath of fire.

She thought she’d hear the sound the feet; people rushing to see why she let out a signal. Panicked, she quickly gathered her clothes. Kyoshi laughed and pulled her down on her lap before she could cover herself. Apparently, everyone in the compound knew about tonight except her; no one would come to check on them. Thank the spirits.

Kyoshi didn’t let Rangi’s humiliating bending mishap ruin her mood, if anything, she got smug about it. She held her flame close, refusing to let her up, teasing her with whispers and bunnykitten bites. Rangi had to get her back. She ran her fingers along the giant’s side, when she broke into giggles, the firebender made the great escape.

With a bit of roughhousing, Rangi had Kyoshi pinned on her stomach. It took effort to keep the heavier woman still with her lighter body, keep her hands pinned, and have a free hand to slip between her lover’s legs. But like any good soldier, she knew how to subdue a larger opponent.

She took great delight at Kyoshi’s aimless squirming. She nipped at her shoulder blades while her lover whined and writhed and begged. Rangi released Kyoshi’s arms after she promised to be good and stay put. Soft whispers of love and praise filled the air until, in a moment of shattering release, two giant fists banged against the ground, sending three trees toppling. 

They did hear shouts this time. The lookouts could ignore a fire blast, but the thundering sound that trees made when they fell couldn’t be unheeded. The great disturbance led to the fear that the women really were under attack. They didn’t have time to get dressed, so Kyoshi bent a tent around them. Rangi laughed loudly into her girlfriend’s chest, thrilled that she didn’t have the biggest blunder of the night, but still incredibly embarrassed.

“Kyoshi, Rangi! You alright?!” A worried voice, muffled by the earth around them, called out from a safe distance. It was tempting to bend the earth to swallow her whole, but instead Kyoshi bent one side of their makeshift shelter down just enough to shout,

“We’re fine!”

“More than fine.” Rangi snickered. The darkness hid the death glare, but the firebender could feel it.

“Uh, okay then! We’re just gonna head back now!”

“Great, thanks!”

The blushing Avatar gave her employees a minute to put some distance between them before lowering the tent back into the earth. It was worse now, she could see Rangi’s self-satisfied smirk, “Don’t give me that look, you did it, too.”

“You did it worse.” She cackled, earning her a playful shove, “We should probably head back before we get into trouble.”

The lookouts gave them funny looks when they made it through the main gate. Kyoshi couldn’t meet their eyes, finding literally everything else more interesting than them. Rangi refused to look away and give them more reason to talk in the morning. Not that it would help. Not that the rumors would be wrong. At least Kyoshi could take comfort in that. It wasn’t that enjoyable to be sixteen and getting a reputation without even having the fun.

Rangi didn’t realize how exhausted she was until she was back in her nightclothes and under the covers. Warmth spread over her body and her eyelids drooped. She hugged Kyoshi close and kissed her cheek, “Goodnight, my love.” She yawned.

Kyoshi, far more tired from her day of work, barely managed to get a ‘love you’ out before she lost herself to sleep. Adorable. The firebender reached up to move a few stray hairs out of her lover’s face and thanked the spirits for letting her meet the big lug. She’d known that she was the luckiest woman in the world for years, and this day proved her right. 

The proposal wasn’t in the Fire Nation. It didn’t take place at noon. It wasn’t really all that private. There was a blanket instead of a sitting rug. A basket instead of a box. Mushrooms instead of sweets. And the contract had been prearranged by their families. Somehow Kyoshi did everything wrong and still managed to come out with the right results. The story of their lives.

* * *

Three weeks later and the island of the Sei’naka Clan was bursting full of people. The Elder’s Hall had been converted for a celebration. A member of there own was announcing their engagement to the Avatar, as if the entire world hadn’t already heard.

The Air Nomads were enjoying themselves, always ready to celebrate love. There were Earth Kingdom Officials there bearing false smiles, none too happy about **_their_** avatar marrying into the Fire Nation nobility, and the message it sent to other people within their nation who also had inappropriate tastes. Water Representatives were just glad this wasn’t **_their_** Avatar.

Kyoshi and Rangi couldn’t care less. They sat on their throne-like chairs with Koko sitting on her Earth mother’s lap. She busied herself by playing with the nearby tassels, getting a stern look from her Fire mother when she tried to see if she could pull it right off the headdress; and once again when she worked to tie it into a knot.

Hei-Ran had a written order from the Avatar to join the party, but she was still unwelcome and stayed towards the back of the room. It was a good vantage point if nothing else. She amused herself by watching members of the Keohso Clan sneer behind the engaged couple’s backs, angry that the young lovers managed to cheat the system. They deserved to spend a night basking in the love they tried to stop.

An aging woman, her Clan’s Festival Elder, bowed to the couple and turned a heel to announce to the crowd that it was time to present their gifts. One by one, the nobles lined up with their offerings. Each person brought their most extravagant contribution along with their prettiest words, even the ones who were nearly bursting with rage. They couldn’t look cheap or uncouth in front of the international visitors.

Hei-Ran was last in line. There was an initial hush, and then a dull mummer. The foreigners quietly debated amongst themselves, they’d never seen a Fire National without a topknot before. That’s because they usually weren’t welcome in polite society. The nationals just turned up their noses. Rangi and Kyoshi were surprised, not expecting a gift from her. And Koko, she just waved excitedly.

She bowed, knelt on the sitting rug, and placed the decorative box in front of her. An attendant picked up her gift and offered it to the couple on their elevated platform. Rangi nodded to the servant as she took the box.

“Avatar Kyoshi, Captain Rangi, I have nothing I can give you except what is already yours.”

Rangi nodded to her, opening the box, and pulling out the contents. There was a smug scoff from her countrymen at the meager offering of a bison whistle and a scroll. They simply enjoyed watching her making a fool of herself. The look on the Captain’s face when she opened the scroll made their arrogance turn to curiosity.

“Kyoshi. It’s from-“ she couldn’t even finish the sentence. She leaned over so that Kyoshi could read the letter from their friend. Koko managed to snatch the whistle out of the box and played with it, making it ‘fly’ around.

“Thank you, Mother.” Rangi choked, barely keeping her eyes dry when the letter was finished.

“He would have wanted you to know how much he cared about you both.”

“This is Kelsang’s.” Kyoshi took a closer look at the whistle. There was a scratch on the figure’s tail, one that Kyoshi made when she’d played with it, and dropped it on sharp rocks at the beach. The tide nearly carried it into the sea, and she nearly drowned in her rescue mission. She’d been so sure that the kind man would throw her away when he saw what she’d done to it. But he wrapped her in his cape and berated her for risking her life over something so trivial. He told her that she was more important to him than any pile of gold or goods, and she should never do something so foolish again.

“We made a bet when you were young. I was to give that whistle back when you two announced your engagement. I can’t do that, but I can give it to his daughter.”

“Thank you, Hei-Ran.” Her words were distorted almost beyond recognition. She had to wipe away the tears with her sleeve, there was no stopping them. Rangi took hold of Kyoshi’s hand while Koko kissed her cheek sloppily,

“Don’t cry, Kyky. See look what you can do with it.” She made swishing noises as she made the bison fly, “It’s ZhenZhen!”

“I think its name is Pengpeng.” Her voice came back a little, as did her smile.

“Oh. It’s Pengpeng! Swwwisshshh!”

* * *

** 75AG **

“On the twenty-six day, the great duelist Rangi suffered two injuries at the hands of some shameful fighters before facing her greatest challenger yet.” Iroh was supposed to be putting his young son to sleep, but instead he’d been asked for one more bedtime story; he’d wanted to hear the story of the _156 Agni Kai’s_. Wait until Lu Ten found out it was a mushy love story.

“How’d she win?” he asked, on the edge of his proverbial seat.

“She didn’t.”

“What?!” He was offended. The hero of the story always won. That was the rule!

“She lost and left the arena in shame.” For dramatic effect he paused, “But all was not lost! Her love waited for a day of great celebration, then pretended to be a lowly servant to propose in her place. It’s said that their love was so magnificent that their kiss shook the earth and lit up the night sky!”

“Ew!” he covered his head with his blanket to guard himself against the oogies.

“They were married, and they raised the foundling child as their own daughter.” he finished with a gentle chuckle. Girls and kisses were still yucky, but that wouldn’t always be so. And when Lu Ten grew up, Iroh hoped that he would be devoted to his wife as General Rangi. He hoped to find his son a wife who was as steadfast as Avatar Kyoshi. “The end.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that wraps up the Rangshi proposal AU. I hope everyone enjoyed it.  
> Special shoutout to ** _Teddydora_** and **_NerdyBird_** for seeing where this was going in the last chapter!


End file.
